Scarred
by velja
Summary: A new school year starts and Ryan Evans is determined to hold onto the frienships he built last summer at Lava Springs. But old habits die hard and old scars often hurt the most. ChadRyan slash eventually, see inside for more. Not finished, sorry.
1. Chapter 1

**Scarred (Polished version, 2013)  
**

by velja

**Fandom:** High School Musical

**Pairing:** Chad/Ryan (slash)

**Rating:** Most parts PG-13, but I'm determined to put some NC-17 in as well

**Disclaimer:** HSM and all the characters belong to Disney and sadly not to me (I'd love to own Ryan though) and I'm just borrowing them for fun.

**Setting:** This is kind of my take on a Ryan-centric HSM 3, so this story is set after the summer at Lava Springs.

**Summary:** A new school year begins and Ryan Evans is determined to hold onto the friendships he built with the Wildcats over the summer. But old habits die hard and old scars often hurt the most. Are the Wildcats able to accept Ryan the way he is? And what happens when Ryan starts falling for Chad Danforth? Is their fragile new friendship going to last? And what about Chad? Is he as straight as he thinks?

**Author's note:** When I first published this story, it was my first attempt at writing HSM-fiction. I was very new to this fandom, having seen HSM for the first time a week before I started writing. Now, more than a few years later, I've suddenly decided to polish this story (there were a lot of mistakes, believe me). I'll go through it chapter by chapter, correcting things here and there, making them sound more smoothly, and maybe, if I', very very lucky, I'll manage to get this thing to a halfway happy ending that I can live with. It's been bothering me for years that I left it unfinished. I hope to change that.

* * *

**Chapter One**

"RYYY-AN!"

The shout from his sister Sharpay, drama queen extraordinaire and self-announced High school goddess, was reverberating through the halls of the spacious Evans mansion, pushing the most annoying sound back into Ryan's ears.

A sound the nearly 18-year-old hadn't heard for several days now, the commanding 'I-am-Sharpay-Evans-and-you-are-better-to-be-following-me' call.

Ever since their summer at Lava Springs, when Ryan had finally stepped out of his sister's shadow by aligning himself with the Wildcats to win the Star Dazzle Award, the twins' relationship had gradually changed from 'the drama queen and her poodle' to 'the drama queen and her…' well, not quite equal, but something much closer to that than the former position as her personal lapdog. For no matter how much Ryan loved the spotlight and bathing in it, he would never match his sister in her talent for dramatic outbursts and temper tantrums. He was far too sensible for that.

So after a short time spent pouting and trying to win 'her poodle' back, Sharpay had eventually come to accept her brother's own personality and had let him be, both going their own ways but still being close for the remaining week of the Summer Holidays.

It had been a good week for both of them.

But now the Holidays were over and the first day of school had arrived.

And that's what had Sharpay standing in the bright entrance hall of her home at seven o'clock in the morning, tapping one latest-Manolo-Blanic's-clad foot impatiently on the marble stone floor and shouting for her brother on top of her lungs.

"Ryan, come on, hurry up!" Sharpay tried again.

"Relax, Shar. Just a second," came the reply from the top of the stairs.

The blond girl didn't watch Ryan come down but threw an impatient look at her watch instead.

It wouldn't do to be late on the first day of Senior year. Late meaning having less than fifteen minutes for her special entrance. She'd planned it all out in her head, walking up the steps to East High with most of the students forming a natural lane for their queen, a vision in turquoise from head to toe, with her brother two steps behind in a matching outfit, only less stunning of course.

"Finally!" Sharpay sighed and started walking to the front door with a short look over her shoulder.

What she saw made her stop mid-stride.

"Ryan, what's this?" she cried shocked.

"What? Not good?" Ryan answered and stroked a hand over the dark red button-down shirt he was wearing. The satin felt cool under his fingers and the fabric glimmered in all the right places to emphasize his well-defined chest and stomach. A pair of stylish dark-blue denim jeans hung low on his slim hips, held by a matching belt, and black designer shoes and a black hat sitting slightly crooked on his blond head completed the outfit.

It had taken Ryan three days to decide on this particular outfit and he was quite satisfied with the outcome. He knew he looked good, and he said so self-assured.

Though, based on the displeased look Sharpay shot him, it seemed like his sister didn't share his opinion.

"I thought we had decided on the white shirt with the turquoise fedora? What happened to that?" Sharpay inquired.

"You mean **you **decided on that, dear sis!" Ryan replied with a smirk on his lips.

"Yeah, whatever. You agreed, didn't you?"

"Well, I changed my mind." Ryan crossed his arms over his chest defiantly.

"Why would you do that?" Sharpay wondered. "I had the whole entrance scene planned out for us and now you look like you don't want to have anything to do with me!"

Ryan quirked a single eyebrow. "Am I hearing real disappointment there?" Could it be that his sister had truly depended on him?

"Of course I'm disappointed, Ry! I mean, we've always done this together, making an entrance for…," Sharpay gestured wildly with her well-manicured hands, "you know, everyone. You've always been behind me when I was outshining the others and now you look like you're trying to blend in with them!"

"Maybe I am," Ryan answered softly.

"What?"

Ryan closed his eyes and breathed deeply in and out to hold on to his inner peace. Then he smiled calmly and said:

"Sharpay, first of all: You know perfectly well that you don't need me to outshine all the others. It comes natural to you, you're an Evans."

"Of course I know that," Sharpay dismissed the compliment with a small wave of her hand. But then she looked at her brother with something akin to genuine concern. "But in case you've forgotten, you're an Evans, too, Ryan. And so you should look like one."

"Hey, these clothes cost mom and dad more than the Wildcats got working as kitchen aids all summer," Ryan argued, "and I know I'm looking good!"

He twirled around with lasciviously moving hips and came to a stop with his chin held high and one hand tapping cockily on his hat.

Sharpay couldn't help but smile proudly at that. From defensive brother to cocky star on stage in a blink of an eye, that was Ryan. An Evans through and through.

And she couldn't really disagree with him, Ryan did look stunning in red and dark. So Sharpay made no effort to deny it but let the argument drop and walked out of the front door to get into her car.

Ryan followed his sister bewildered.

"What, no argument, no tantrums at all? What's the matter with you, Shar? Not feeling ill, are you?" he asked when he'd gotten into the passenger seat.

"Well," Sharpay flashed him a bright smile, "It's no big deal, is it? I simply have to make my entrance without you matching me. I can do that, I'm an actor! And now I don't have to worry about clumsy you tripping over your bookcase or something else embarrassing. So, everything's gonna be fine!"

Ryan's smile equaled his sister's but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Sharpay noticed and when she'd steered her car out of the driveway onto the road she asked cautiously:

"Ryan, what's the matter?"

"Nothing," the blond boy answered a bit too quickly. His sister gave him a look that spoke volumes and soon Ryan sighed and gave in.

"It's just… I don't know what to expect, meeting the Wildcats for the first time after what happened at the club. I don't know what they think of me now, and…" he paused frustrated, "and I hate that. I hate being insecure."

"Then don't be!" Sharpay said determined. "Why would you care what a bunch of uncultivated sweating jocks thinks about you anyway? You're better than them, you're an Evans!"

"I don't want to be better then them!" Ryan burst out suddenly. "I just want to be…"

"What, like them? Is that what you mean?"

Ryan shrugged and turned his head to look out of the window.

"Maybe?"

"Brother, you really had a change of heart over the summer," Sharpay exclaimed but she didn't sound upset.

And she really wasn't. It had taken a few days but eventually Sharpay had understood that her brother had really liked being part of something other than the fabulous Evans' twins. For her it had always been enough, but of course that was because she'd always been the one in control.

Maybe now Ryan needed to be in control of something, too.

Well, as long as he wouldn't stop being her partner on stage she couldn't care less. The auditions for the drama club's winter musical would start soon and she counted on her brother to team up with her. After all, they had to beat that basketball freak and his brainy for the leading roles.

Then another thought occurred to Sharpay and she asked panicked:

"You're not going to try out for the baseball team, are you?"

Ryan didn't reply but a small smile crept onto his face at the thought of his sister worrying about him ruining their reputation by being on the baseball team.

Well, maybe he would go for the try out's after all. He was sure that he stood a good chance to make it onto the team. Ryan had been playing baseball for nearly ten years, since being a four-year-old, before he'd given it up to concentrate completely on his performance career. But now… the thought of being on a team, with others… it sounded good.

Maybe Ryan had indeed had a change of heart over the summer. Ever since he'd become a teenager he'd preferred his solitude over doing stuff with other kids (apart from his twin sister of course). Sports, dancing, singing, studying, spending free-time… no matter what he'd done, he'd always done it alone or with Sharpay. But this last summer had suddenly given him a taste of what he'd been missing out on all these years.

Working for the talent show with Gabriella and the Wildcats had been really fun. He'd enjoyed arranging the songs with Kelsi and coming up with the right moves for the music. Teaching a bunch of inexperienced but talented people how to dance and having them actually listen to him had been a great experience.

And Ryan had to smile each time he remembered the Baseball game and the 'I-don't-dance-I-show-you-how-to-swing' Contest he'd had with Chad Danforth. That had been one hell of a game, but he'd loved every minute of it. And after the game they'd all been sitting together, winners and losers, sharing snacks and Coke and ice-cream, talking and laughing like friends, and Chad had suggested swapping outfits like you do after every real game, and Ryan had never felt more comfortable in his whole life, sitting there in Chad's ordinary baseball shirt and cap, sharing jokes and food and baseball tales and…

…simply being part of something.

So, yes, he'd really had a change of heart then.

That time at Lava Springs had been one of the best times of his life (apart from being on stage, because, no matter what, Ryan Evans was born to perform and that was what he loved most).

But now Ryan was determined to take the chance that had presented itself. A chance to be something other than the drama kid, or Sharpay's poodle, or whatever people called him. Being a part of something, finally having friends and a normal life, that was what Ryan Evans was determined to hold on to.

And if that meant having to step away from his sister more often, then, well, he would do just that. He was an Evans after all, he could do it!

With that in mind Ryan finally relaxed in the passenger seat and let his sister drive her fabulous pink convertible to school.

Sharpay would have her entrance and Ryan…

…well, he'd see.

* * *

**TBC**

**Please review and tell me if you like it. Thanks! **


	2. Chapter 2

**I hope you still like it, here's the next part of the polished version 2013.  
**

**For disclaimer and everything, see the first chapter.**

* * *

**Scarred **

**Chapter Two**

Most tables at the school cafeteria were already occupied by more or less big groups of students when Ryan finally made his way inside to grab lunch.

So far the first day back in school had been pretty usual. Sharpay had had her special entrance with dozens of admiring fans fawning over her outfit and most people hadn't even noticed that the other half of the Evans' twins had stayed more than a few steps behind.

It had been the perfect opportunity for Ryan to observe the crowd like he'd often done before while acting as Sharpay's shadow. But today he'd watched the whole school through different eyes.

Ryan had seen things he'd never bothered to notice before. Like friends catching up after the long summer break, hugging and smiling at each other, eager to share their summer adventures. He'd listened to people greeting each other with 'Hey man, I totally need to tell you…' and 'Dude, you won't believe what happened!' and Ryan had suddenly wondered what it would be like to have conversations like that.

Sure, he'd received a few 'Hey, Evans!' and 'Ryan, good to see you!' from fellow Drama students this morning, but none of those had led to longer conversations about how he'd spent his summer or other trivia you'd discuss with friends on the first day of school.

Up until now Ryan had never felt the need to initiate exchanges like that. He'd never before started a chat about where he'd been over the summer or what he'd been doing all those weeks.

The only person he'd wanted to share things with had been Sharpay, and since his twin sister had already been there to experience everything with him there'd simply been no need to exchange summer tales with anybody.

But now, after Ryan had spent his summer at Lava Springs sort of making friends and actually having something to talk about, there was no one there to listen.

Though Ryan had had Math first period together with Zeke and Jason and then another lesson together with Troy and Chad, none of the Wildcats had approached him in class to talk to him. Sure, they had waved friendly or thrown a good-natured "Hey Ryan!" his way, but other than that… nothing.

And the Drama King, inexperienced as he was in these kind of social things, hadn't known how to approach the Wildcats on his own. So he'd simply let it go.

He shouldn't expect things to change from first day on, right? Right, these things needed time, so maybe tomorrow…

"Hey, Evans!"

Startled by the sudden greeting Ryan looked down to the table he had been passing and right into the smiling face of Chad Danforth. The curly-haired boy had scooted aside on the bench he was occupying with several other Wildcats and was now gesturing to the free space he'd left behind.

"Come on, sit down," he commanded more than asked.

Ryan frowned at Chad and then he looked back up to scan the crowd for his sister.

Sure enough, there was Sharpay sitting at one of the center tables surrounded by several other girls. She bathed in the attention she was getting but seemed to be looking out for him nevertheless. The twins' eyes met and Ryan send her a small smile followed by a questioning nod towards the Wildcat's table, unsure whether or not she was okay with him not joining her for lunch. The blond girl's reply was an indifferent shrug with her shoulders but the smile in her eyes showed Ryan that Sharpay was actually okay with the new sitting arrangements.

So after the brief silent exchange Ryan turned his attention back to Chad and the other occupants of the table. When the jock still motioned for him to sit down, Ryan gave a smile and lowered his tray onto the table.

He scooted gracefully onto the bench next to Chad and received a grin and several indifferent nods or "Hi's" from what seemed to be the entire basketball team plus a few additional girls.

"Thanks," he nodded towards Chad and started on his lunch.

"No problem," the basketball star replied and dug into his food, too.

"So," Chad spoke around a big mouth-full of sandwich only seconds later, "how's the first day going for you?"

Ryan quickly swallowed his bite and answered:

"Okay so far, and yours?"

"Could be better. Having to sit through Mr. Franklin's class first thing on a Monday morning isn't exactly my idea of fun."

"It isn't?" Ryan tried to sound sarcastic but by the look Chad gave him he supposed it hadn't come out quite right.

"No man," Chad moaned, "I'd rather sleep through class like I did last term when I had Mrs. Darbus droning on and on about the 'Halls of Fame and Glory' on Mondays."

"Oh," Ryan nodded seriously, "that was you snoring then!"

Chad's eyes grew huge and then he suddenly burst out laughing. Who would have thought? Ryan Evans had just made a joke!

Ryan grinned sheepishly at the darker boy next to him who couldn't seem to stop laughing. It wasn't that funny, was it? He surely hadn't intended it to be, it had simply been the first thing on his mind after Chad's comment.

Ryan didn't speak his mind very often. Living around Sharpay had taught him that if you wanted to live you had to watch your mouth constantly. He'd been on the wrong end of her sharp tongue (and nails or rather… claws) often enough, especially that one time as a six-year-old. The scars her fingernails had left were still visible on his upper arms, if you squinted hard enough.

So Ryan had taken to really think about what he would say or how he'd react to others. He knew that it made him look slow or even dumb on occasion, but… better be thought dumb than to sport bruises every day, right?

But… maybe he should start trying to be more spontaneous?

Well, seeing Chad's reaction now he certainly would. A warm glow started to spread through Ryan's body at the sight of Chad, basketball star and popular jock, happy and relaxed because of something Ryan had said.

Chad was laughing with him, not at him. And not because of an act Ryan had performed on stage as part of a character, no… he was laughing with him, Ryan Evans.

'Maybe things are about to change from first day on after all.' the blond boy thought happily and went back to eating his lunch.

* * *

Later at home Ryan still felt the glow-y warmth spreading through his insides whenever he thought about spending today's lunch period with Chad and the Wildcats.

He was sitting cross-legged on his bed, clad in simple black pants and a blue T-shirt (still, a designer shirt of course), barefoot and without one of his trademark hats, and was listening to one of his favorite musicals through headphones and thinking about the day.

All in all, being back in school hadn't been that bad. Even more, he thought with a smile, lunch-break had been absolutely fabulous.

After its surprisingly funny start the conversation with Chad had flown effortlessly and jokes and more serious topics had been exchanged easily between the basketball player and the drama king. They had chatted about subjects and teachers they both liked (or rather disliked because neither Ryan nor Chad were Einstein's like Gabriella or Taylor).

And then the conversation had turned towards their summer at Lava Springs and the famous baseball game they'd somehow turned into a dancing – or not-dancing – contest. That had let to Chad asking if Ryan would try out for the baseball team this year.

At this point all the other occupants of the table had joined their conversation out of the blue. Or, well, they'd rather sat there staring at Chad, totally shocked for such a suggestion. Then every pair of eyes had turned to Ryan, waiting for an answer, and Ryan had felt his cheeks go suddenly aflame. It wasn't the attention he was getting from everyone that caused the blushing, for he was used to people staring at him on stage and he loved the limelight then. But now they weren't staring at the Drama Club's best actor performing, no, they were all staring at him, Ryan.

And that was something Ryan wasn't used to.

So he muttered something that was neither here nor there, but after some to and fro it was somehow translated by Chad into a confirmation that, yeah, sure, he would go to the baseball try-outs tomorrow afternoon.

Ryan still didn't know for sure if it would be wise to go but… well, since he'd thought about trying out for the team anyway… it really didn't matter if he'd somehow been talked into it by Chad, right?

And after all, the curly-haired jock would be there, too. It couldn't be that bad.

So, tomorrow Ryan would stay after school for the try-outs. And he would walk up to the diamond with his head held high and show everyone who had his doubts that East High's most fashionable Drama student knew how to pitch and catch. He got a little game after all, right?

"Oh, damn!" Ryan suddenly exclaimed and scrambled off his bed in panic. "I need to pick out an outfit!"

The headphones clattered forgotten to the floor when Ryan rushed to the door and shouted:

"Sharpay! Help me!"

* * *

**TBC**

**Author's note: **I feel the need to explain two things. First: I hope that Ryan isn't too much OOC here with his blushing and being insecure and all. But I needed to point out that in my opinion there really are two different sides of him. When he's on stage or with Sharpay as back-up he's confident and all because he's always playing a role then. He's Sharpay's sidekick, a role he's learned to play really well, or he's a character on stage. But when he's on his own or in his thoughts it's simply Ryan, not a character. Then another, more vulnerable side shows itself. Some things in his past made him the way he is and I will reveal some of his past in later chapters.

And the second thing I need to explain, or rather apologize for is this: I really wanted to include all the Wildcats in this story (I guess you noticed that neither Troy nor Gabriella haven't appeared yet), but I somehow can't find a way to write them. It's the same with Sharpay, all my attempts to write one of them just turned out awful and completely OOC and I had to delete the scenes again. So I guess more than a few words here and there is all I can give you, but... well, this is a Chyan story after all. I hope you don't miss the other character's too much.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings. Oh, and... a review would be nice!


	3. Chapter 3

**Scarred (polished version 2013)**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

The next day went much too fast for Ryan's liking. Before he knew it the bell had rung to announce the end of the school day and that meant: time for the baseball try-outs!

His heard skipped a beat and then began pounding in his chest like mad.

'This is ridiculous!' the blond boy berated himself as he stuffed his papers and pens into his schoolbag and shut it forcefully, determined not to let his nerves get the better of him. He was an Evans, for God's sake, and no Evans would ever get nervous about something as mundane as trying out for the school's baseball team.

"Ryan?" Sharpay's demanding voice broke through the thoughts swimming around in his head.

"Hm?"

His sister had more or less patiently waited at her desk for Ryan to appear next to her. After all, the walk out of the classrooms to their lockers had always been made together, and if Sharpay had a say in this (which of course she had, no matter how many silly ideas about cutting their cord her brother would ever have), this wouldn't change in the near future.

So the blond drama queen waited, tapping one foot and watching her nails, for her brother to snap out of his class-indulged daydreams. When he continued to stare into space even standing right in front of her she snapped her fingers right in his face. That finally got his attention.

"What?" he asked bewildered.

"Are you still gonna go through with this nonsense?"

"You mean the try-outs?"

"No, I meant getting a puppy named Miss Piggy!" Sharpay's voice dripped with sarcasm. Ryan stared at her wide-eyed. "Of course I meant the try-outs!" his sister shouted exasperated. "You're still going?"

"Yes, I am!" Ryan hid his nervousness well behind faked confidence.

His sister studied him for a second and then she sighed and a let a reassuring smile graze her features.

"Okay then," she beamed and started to walk away, "good luck to you!"

Ryan watched her sway out of the classroom with a smile. He felt momentarily better, the fluttering in his stomach having gone down to a normal level for now.

And, really, there was nothing to be worried about, was there?

Anything baseball-related had always come easily to an Evans; after all, two of his uncles had been playing baseball professionally in their youth's. And his dad even owned a baseball team!

Ryan himself had been playing baseball nearly all the time till he'd been fourteen. Then... well, he somehow couldn't seem to remember the exact moment when things had started to change around him – and within him, but somehow suddenly singing, dancing and acting had held the bigger fascination for him (and practicing had taken up all his spare-time). But before that he'd practically lived on the field.

Okay, so apart from the game with the Lava Springs staff members (and Chad of course), he hadn't thrown a curve ball in years, but… wasn't baseball like riding a bike? Once you'd gotten the hang of it you'd never unlearn the right moves?

Well, Ryan hoped for it as he made his way out of the classroom.

He hoped desperately that he'd prove his mom right, who'd assured him last night that he would do fine, just like always.

"Ducky, my boy," she'd said with a smile, "there's absolutely no need to bother your pretty head with it. You worry far too much. You've always been good at baseball, so why shouldn't my darling boy succeed now? You'll do fine!"

And then his mom had stroked his hair back to give him a kiss on the forehead and had sent him off to bed with their special 'finger-greeting' ritual.

Walking up the stairs to his room Ryan had felt reassured and loved (and a little bit like a five-year-old kid) and had slept peacefully till morning.

So now, arriving at his locker to retrieve the bag with his clothes for the try-outs, when his nerves threatened to get the better of him Ryan quickly closed his eyes and breathed deeply in and out. He whispered his mom's words like a mantra ("You'll do fine, you'll do fine, you'll…") and nearly got a heart attack when someone clapped him hard on the shoulder.

Ryan's eyes shot open to see five or six boys surrounding him, all clad in the Wildcat's red and gray baseball jerseys.

"Is it true, Evans? You trying out for our team?" The one on Ryan's left asked.

So this was the team then? Ryan didn't know any of the boys.

Well, maybe he'd seen them before and he even thought he had Math with the tall dark-haired boy who'd addressed him, but he didn't know any of the boy's names.

But that didn't matter, did it?

All boys were watching him wearily as if waiting for…

Oh, right, they'd asked something.

Ryan took a deep breath ('Come on, show time!') and then his face changed instantly into a mask of haughty indifference.

"What if I am? You got a problem with it?"

The dark-haired boy, possibly the captain, let his eyes travel up and down Ryan's body for a second before he looked him straight in the face and huffed:

"We'll see!"

Then he gave a short whistle and started to turn away. The other boys followed slowly, laughing and whooping and exchanging their opinions soundly.

Ryan let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and tried not to listen to the stupid comments when he followed the team out of the halls with his bag in hand.

But he couldn't help overhearing some of what the boys said.

"Isn't he one of the Drama kids?"

Well, yeah, he was. So what? Ryan couldn't be bothered.

"I can't wait to see that rich kid getting his precious designer clothes all dirty!"

Ryan snorted. Well, at least being rich meant he didn't have to do his laundry by himself, that's what his family had staff for (Pamela, the maid, in this case).

If those were the kinds of comments the baseball players were gonna let loose then Ryan had nothing to fear. He'd had to deal with defending his family's wealth and his own choice in school activities all his life, he was used to it by now.

"I don't care if he thinks he's some kind of Shakespeare or Rockefeller," Ryan heard one of them announce, "but if that faggot throws so much as one queer glance at me in the locker room then he's in for something! Queers on the baseball team, my ass!"

Ryan stopped dead in his tracks. The laughter of the boys slowly faded away but it didn't register on Ryan's mind. All he heard were the words 'queer' and 'faggot'…

… and suddenly Ryan remembered why he'd stopped playing baseball years ago.

* * *

_A short-breathed and red-faced but happily grinning blond boy was running across the now nearly deserted baseball field at Newport, Rhode Island, to stop in front of the locker rooms and trying to catch his breath eventually._

_Thirteen-year-old Ryan Evans was on the verge of breaking down from exhaustion because he'd given all he had to win this game and he was truly happy because that's what they'd done after all. He and his team had won the championship, for the second time in row!_

_Could life get any better right now?_

_He hurried to enter the locker rooms and noticed that all his teammates had changed out of their clothes and had entered the showers already._

_Ryan was the last to drop his dirty and really sweaty-smelling jersey onto one of the benches. The smell followed him when he slowly walked over to where he could hear his mates splashing and shouting happily in the showers._

_Ryan couldn't find an unoccupied shower (there were no separate stalls, the room was like one big shower with maybe a dozen sprays coming from the ceiling). But, as all sprays were currently used and Ryan really needed to get the sweat off his body he didn't have a choice but squashed his small body next to his Team Captain Brian and ducked his head under the water._

_The space really wasn't that big, especially for two boys, and so Ryan couldn't help but brush against Brian's chest or thighs or other parts of his Captain's body ever so often. Especially with his eyes closed against the shampoo running down his face he could nothing but fumble his way around._

_Ryan smelled the different kinds of soap as well as Brian's sweat coming from next to him and suddenly he was very aware of the other boy's body. And, worse, he noticed certain parts of his anatomy start perking up in interest. _

_Ryan felt his face blush and wondered how there could be enough blood in his head when he had the terrible feeling that all his blood was currently rushing south very quickly. He tried to turn around so that his front wouldn't be seen by the other boys but bumped into Brian's ass instead. Or well, a certain part of him bumped into Brian._

_Ryan let out an involuntary gasp at the sudden contact and opened his eyes quickly._

_Brian was staring in horror at Ryan. Then the Captain's eyes traveled lower and he looked down at what exactly had touched him. And his face showed nothing but disgust when he growled:_

"_Get away from me, you fag!"_

_All Ryan could do was stare at Brian in shock. He couldn't move a muscle._

_But it seemed that the taller boy could easily do that for him because the next thing Ryan knew was that he was brutally shoved against the tiled walls of the shower. He felt something dig painfully into his smaller back, Brian had pushed him forcefully against one of the metal soap dishes._

"_Are you deaf, Evans?" Brian shouted and gave him another hard shove. Excruciating pain suddenly throbbed through Ryan's back and he could feel warm blood starting to stream down his ass. Apparently the soap dish had very sharp edges and one of the metal bars had cut into his tender skin._

"_Get out, faggot!" Brian shouted into his face. _

_Ryan couldn't withhold a soft sob when he finally snapped into action. Without a glance at the other boys he grabbed his shampoo and shower gel and bolted from the room, tears blurring his view and blood running down his back, leaving a bright red trail behind._

* * *

That incident hadn't been the first (or the last) painful and humiliating event but just like the deep cut on his back had marked his body permanently it had also marked a turning point in Ryan's life.

The wound on his back had healed within weeks but the internal scars had taken much longer to fade from Ryan's mind. And all of them together had worked as a catalyst for him to like baseball less and less (and all other sports, too) until he'd finally quit the team.

Since then Ryan had dreaded changing in front of or showering with other boys. Because no matter what innocent or disgusting thoughts he'd engaged his mind with for distraction, nothing had worked and he'd been in the same embarrassing situation over and over again. The more he'd wished for it to not happen, the more of course it had.

Well, he'd been thirteen after all, and it had been pretty normal for his body to start changing by getting aroused in the worst possible moments. But Ryan had noticed that none of the other boys were having his kind of problems. Why did he seem to be the only one who got a hard-on at the sight of other boys' naked bodies? Was he that different?

It had taken several months for Ryan to finally understand that he was indeed that different. While other boys couldn't seem to stop ranting about breasts and girls in general he'd never felt the pull towards the opposite sex.

And that's when he'd finally understood that he was gay.

* * *

All through these revelations and the sudden flashback running like a movie in front of his inner eye Ryan had been standing in the school's entrance hall rooted to the spot.

Now he slowly tried to regain the focus on his surroundings as well as get some feeling back into his muscles. His legs felt like leaf and Ryan noticed he'd unconsciously been scratching his back through his shirt. The small silvery scar he could now feel through the thin fabric should have been a constant reminder of why he should stick to the Drama Club and nothing else, certainly not baseball.

What devil had possessed him to seriously consider joining a team of sweating, bullying and clearly homophobic jerks?

How could he have forgotten?

Even if this wasn't Rhode Island and Ryan wasn't a skinny, self-doubting inexperienced thirteen-year-old anymore (sexually or otherwise)…

… certain things would never change, no matter how old or how truly good of an actor you'd become.

He couldn't go for the try-outs, he just couldn't!

Closing his eyes again to find some last straw of inner peace Ryan didn't notice someone walking his way with a grin on his face. And for the second time today his heart nearly stopped when he received a clap on his shoulder.

"Hey Ryan, are you ready for the try-outs?" Chad grinned and added: "Not chickening out, are you?"

"I won't go, so you can just as well shut up and go away!" the blond boy blew him off completely out of the blue, not even looking at the jock.

"Wow, Evans," Chad took a step back and frowned, "stop biting my head off! What do you mean, you won't go?"

Ryan opened his eyes and seemed to notice who he'd shouted at for the first time. He tried to calm down but his next words still came out forcefully.

"I mean that I won't play baseball ever again. Neither you nor anybody else can make me!"

"But yesterday you were… I mean," Chad stumbled over his own words, "you said you wanted to, didn't you? I thought you liked playing?"

"Have you seen Sharpay?"

The sudden change of topic took Chad completely off guard and he all but stuttered:

"She… I guess she went home already. I saw her leave…"

Chad stopped mid-air when he noticed all color leaving Ryan's face instantly.

"She left…?"

"Yeah, I saw the 'pink Fabulous' shoot off the parking lot earlier when I went looking for you." Chad put one hand onto Ryan's arm for steadying because the blond boy sure as hell looked like he was going to faint any second.

"Dude, what's the matter with you?"

"Nothing," Ryan pressed out between clenched teeth and belied his words the next second when his legs finally gave out and he let his back collide with the wall behind to slide down into a sitting/slouching position, "I just… I need to… Sharpay…"

"Ryan," Chad knelt down next to him and lowered his gaze to catch the other boy's eyes, "tell me what's wrong."

"I… I can't," Ryan whispered, "you wouldn't understand."

Chad was at a complete loss. The normally self-assured Drama King was suddenly sitting here next to him, crumpled and on the verge of a nervous breakdown, shaking his head and making absolutely no sense at all.

But Chad wouldn't be Chad if he wouldn't try to get to the bottom of this. He'd never been one to leave a friend in misery and… although he wasn't quite sure if Ryan Evans was a friend yet, he certainly was in misery.

"Try me, Ryan," he replied gently and lowered his body into a more comfortable and comforting position directly next to Ryan on the floor.

"Okay, now tell me."

Ryan's big blue eyes locked with Chad's chocolate brown ones and when he saw nothing but genuine concern in them he sighed and started talking in a hushed and broken voice barely more than a whisper:

"Okay, well, I played baseball till I was thirteen and then… then some… something happened and I quit. I had totally forgotten about it but when I overheard some jerks of the team earlier it all came rushing back and… well, it was just… just a shock I guess."

Chad inquired softly: "What did they say?"

Ryan's throat went dry. Could he really tell Chad…?

Well, Ryan had long since come to terms with being gay; he wasn't ashamed of it anymore. And though he'd never really gone and come out officially he guessed most East High students knew or at least assumed it already. I mean, come on, he was kind of obvious in that whole stereotyped "very-flamboyant-Drama-King-with-great-fashion-sense" way.

His hats matched each of his outfits and even those of his twin sister's, for crying out loud! Could anyone be more obvious?

So, okay… Chad probably knew that Ryan was gay anyway. It wouldn't be big news, would it?

But how did the basketball star feel about that? Would he be okay with it? Or would he be disgusted like Brian and many others after that had been?

Ryan threw an ascertaining glance at Chad. The dark skinned boy seemed to be genuine in his concerns.

So Ryan took a deep breath and whispered:

"Well, the jerks were worried that I would come on to them in the locker rooms. You know, a gay guy on the baseball team and all that…"

He waited for Chad's reaction with baited breath.

"Oh," was Chad's first reply, "so, you're… oh."

"Yeah, oh," Ryan tried a small smile and waited for more to come. Surely Chad had more to say than just "Oh", right? Ryan braced himself when he saw Chad's mouth open. But the next words threw him off completely.

"Well dude, I'm glad to hear that."

"What?"

Ryan's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets and Chad had to laugh out loud at the sight. Then he calmed down enough to explain:

"Yeah, well I'm glad cause that means my gay-dar is working again."

At Ryan's dumbfounded look Chad explained some more. "Gay-dar, you know? When you can tell a person is gay just by looking or talking to them?"

Ryan nodded shakily, he'd heard of something like that but thinking of Chad Danforth having a gay-dar was something he'd never thought possible.

Chad went on: "I thought I'd lost it when Taylor told me she was gay a few days ago. I mean, come on, I dated her for like the whole summer! And I never noticed a thing! How's that possible, tell me?"

"Ugh…" Ryan muttered.

"But," Chad continued, "seeing as I was right about you I guess it's still working. Or… working again… or, maybe it just works with guys… I don't know."

"Ugh, so…" Ryan said after a short silence, "Taylor's gay, hm?"

"Yeah, who would have thought!" Chad smiled and added sheepishly: "Guess that explains why I didn't get past a few kisses with her!"

Ryan couldn't help but laugh at Chad's words and the curly-haired boy joined him only seconds later.

"So…" Chad asked after a while, "you feeling better?"

"Actually I am," Ryan smiled, "thanks!"

"You're welcome."

* * *

Both boys started to get up from the ground they'd been sitting on and Chad threw a short glance at the large school clock on the wall. They'd been there for more than twenty minutes and the baseball try-outs had started ten minutes ago. Chad knew that he was supposed to attend, he was a member of the team after all.

The jock had really been looking forward to watch the try-outs, and he'd secretly hoped that Ryan would make it onto the team. Heck, that boy had one hell of a swing, and not just on the dance floor, and he'd also turned out to be a great pitcher. The team was in dire need for someone like Ryan Evans but… it seemed that they'd have to look for a new shooting star elsewhere, or…?

"Ryan," Chad tried cautiously, "are you sure you don't wanna go for the try-outs? We could really use someone with your skills."

"No," the blond boy crushed Chad's hopes at once, "I can't, sorry."

"You don't have to decide now, you know?" Chad tried a different tactic, "you could think about it again and then come to practice next week or so. You…"

"Chad," Ryan interrupted, "just… leave it, okay?"

"Damn, Evans!" Chad exclaimed all of a sudden, "Is a bunch of homophobic assholes really gonna stop you from doing something you really like? Do you really want to give in to them? Let them win? Come on, you're an Evans! You don't give up that easily, do you? What's the worst those stupid idiots could possibly throw at you, hm? Some insults? Come on, you don't have to listen to them!" Chad finished his little outburst standing right in front Ryan, their faces only inches apart.

"I'm not worried about the insults, Chad." Ryan gave him a bitter smile, his left hand going unconsciously around his back to touch the soft knob of scarred tissue under his shirt.

"Then what? What are you afraid of?" Chad asked softly, noticing Ryan's movement and filing it away for later.

"More scars," the blond boy replied sadly and walked past Chad to the front doors without another glance.

All Chad could do was… let him go.

For now.

* * *

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four (polished version 2013)  
**

The next day Ryan went to school anxious of what to expect from the Wildcats. For it certainly wouldn't stay a secret for long that he had ditched the baseball try-outs right after they'd all heard him say at lunch that he certainly would go.

Surely they would think of him as a coward now, wouldn't they? See him as someone who was all talk and nothing else. Or maybe they'd think it had all been some part of a devious scheme the evil Evans twins had come up with… because that's what they always did.

'Well, let them think whatever they want,' Ryan thought glumly, 'I'm not gonna go and defend myself to them!'

No, he wouldn't because… well, what could he say?

They were right, weren't they?

Okay, not about the scheming… that was something very far from Ryan's mind these days, but… the other part? The coward thing?

He had chickened out after all.

He'd been afraid to go to the try-outs and Chad had been there to see it. The jock had gotten a first row seat, so to speak. Maybe the darker boy hadn't grasped all the right reasons for Ryan's breakdown… or maybe he had.

Ryan couldn't remember how much exactly he'd let slip yesterday, the afternoon felt like a big blurry cloud inside his head; memories of pain and humiliation mixing up with chocolate brown eyes and a kind smile.

But Ryan knew for sure that by the end of classes he'd know what Chad thought of him because it sure as hell would be the talk of the day, right?

He could imagine the jock clearly in his head now, leaning coolly at his locker, whispering to Troy, Gabriella, Taylor, Zeke and everybody else how Ryan had sat crumpled in the halls. They would laugh and joke about him… well, okay, maybe Gabriella wouldn't exactly laugh; the tiny girl rarely made fun of anybody and she'd been really nice to him at Lava Springs… but from now on she would certainly look at him with this pitying look in her eyes…

… and that was something Ryan absolutely couldn't stomach. Pity.

Well, there was no need to worry about any of this now, was there? What did his mom always say? He worried far too much for his pretty head.

Right, so he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

* * *

And, really, it seemed as if Mrs. Evans had the right attitude because it turned out Ryan really did worry far too much. No one in school joked about the Drama King the following days (or well, no more than usual) and none of the Wildcats said a word about the try-outs or baseball in general around him.

What Ryan of course didn't know was that Chad had asked his friends to leave Ryan alone about it. He'd said the blond boy simply had changed his mind for now and maybe he would try out later again. And Chad had even gone and threatened the other Wildcats with endless torture (meaning: Chad would find ways to embarrass each of them in front of the whole school) should one of them dare to ask the Drama King about it before he'd brought the topic up himself.

Chad wasn't sure why he felt the need to protect Ryan all of a sudden, they weren't even friends yet, were they? Maybe they were on the way to friendship, but certainly not close enough for the jock to justify such commitment reasonably.

But Chad couldn't help it; when the twin had left school the other day with that sad look in his eyes, cryptically voicing something about scars and absentmindedly scratching his back, Chad had felt a cold shiver running down his spine.

Something had seriously scared the other boy away from baseball for life, and Chad was determined to find out what it was and how to fix it. And if he therefore had to get to know the Drama King better, well… Chad was sure that Ryan was certainly worth the trouble.

After all, he was just what the East High baseball team needed, wasn't he?

* * *

The social life at East High went quite peacefully for the next few weeks; they all fell into some kind of strange routine where everybody had his or her usual place in different groups (like the braniacs, the jocks or the thespians) but counted as friends above all that.

Ryan slowly got used to hanging out with Troy, Chad and the other basketball stars in between classes and for lunch, and even Sharpay could be seen sometimes talking to some of the Wildcats in what could pass for friendly.

She was still acting like the true Drama Queen most times, shocking everyone with sudden outbursts for completely unknown reasons. But sometimes, especially when the other half of the Evans twins was present as well, Sharpay could almost be mistaken for a human being.

It seemed as if Ryan somehow acted as a buffer between his sister and the rest of the world; a role the Drama King had really taken to heart.

And, best of all, it wasn't even an act he was playing.

Ryan was just being himself around the Wildcats and his sister and somehow he managed to defuse any verbal bomb Sharpay would let loose. The blond boys' short dry comments seemed to take the edges off Sharpay's words in such a droll way that even the Drama Queen couldn't help but laugh and be peaceful.

Not to mention Chad and all the others.

* * *

So while the social life at East High came to border on a calm routine (apart from some break-up's and get-back-together's every other day; like Zeke and Sharpay or Kelsi and Jason) other parts of their lives turned to be less calm.

School for example.

Gradually the group of newly-made friends understood what it meant to be a senior. They were all struggling to adapt to the school routine after the long summer break. It wasn't easy to squash piles of homework in between basketball practice or Science Club meetings, various other after-school-activities and, of course, the numerous "college-talks" they got from nearly every teacher (even Ms. Darbus who wanted her favorite Drama Club stars to go out into the 'World of Fame').

Parents were starting to pressure them on that subject, too.

"Choosing the right college is the most important step towards the life meant for my princess!" Mrs. Evans had told Sharpay over and over. "After all, I met your daddy at college."

But Sharpay was maybe the only one who didn't worry about college as much as the rest. After all, she was Sharpay Evans! She was rich and beautiful and East High's most talented Drama Queen and everybody in Albuquerque knew that.

Why should it be any different wherever she was going next?

Ryan wasn't fooled that easily by his sister's apparent indifference towards the future. He knew that Sharpay longed to be accepted at the best Drama college available just as much as himself.

But if pretending to ignore the whole thing was Sharpay's way of dealing, well… who was he to question it?

He had his own strategy to worry about (again with the worry, he should really do yoga more often).

Ryan knew of course that he had a terrific voice and he was perfect at dancing and on stage in general. Nobody at East High could outshine him (at least no male), not even Troy Bolton with his voice clearly made for singing love songs full of heartache and misery.

Okay, so maybe Troy actually had the upper hand when it came to singing ballades but Ryan guessed that was because he'd barely gotten a chance at them. Whenever he'd liked a slow duet in the past that actually wasn't too mushy for Sharpay and him (they were twins after all; not a couple) his sister had gone and upped the tempo to something nearly unrecognizable to the former song.

Or, Ryan thought, he wasn't that good at love songs because he'd never really been in love before. Who knew?

But that wasn't really the point. The point was, Troy seemed to be good at ballades only whereas whenever it came to a different style of music, like Jazz or Soul or even Rock on occasion, Ryan knew that he was the one on top.

He was an all rounder with his voice. And when it came to dancing…

Well, certainly no one could get the better of him at that.

But knowing and convincing others of that were, after all, still two different pair of shoes.

Ryan had to find a way of putting his many talents into the college applications in a way that no college could refuse him. And that meant: he had to get as many good references from teachers as he could.

Wait, didn't extra-classes count, too?

* * *

"No, no, no! Stop!"

Ryan shouted over the loud music that came blasting from the theater's stereo. He rushed to cut off the sound and then turned around to face the bunch of students on stage with an exasperated sigh.

"You there, on the left," he addressed a pale freckled boy and walked over to stand in front of him.

"Dylan," the boy said annoyed.

"Yeah, you! And you!" Ryan pointed at another boy (who's name was Steve but Ryan didn't bother remembering) who stood one feet behind all the others, "Don't you see that you're not in line?"

"What line?" A red-haired girl next to Steve asked bewildered.

"What line? What…?" Ryan broke off and let out another sigh. He tried to hold on to his inner peace but, God, these kids were just too dumb. Teaching them what had to be the simplest moves dancers had ever needed to practice proved to be more exhausting than a shopping trip with Sharpay when she was in one of her moods.

It was hopeless.

God, how Ryan wished to be anywhere else right now!

He still wasn't sure how he'd gotten into this mess in the first place. Okay, he knew exactly how he'd gotten here. After all, it had been his own perfect plan to apply for this 'mess'. Why, oh why had he volunteered to give dancing lessons for extra credits?

For college, that's why!

Ryan had thought that after teaching the Wildcats for the talent show last summer this couldn't be much different. In fact, it should have been more easy seeing that the Wildcats had been inexperienced jocks while these kids were mostly junior Drama Club students. Some of them had even been part of the last school musical. But… well, look at them now!

They couldn't even form a simple line!

Ryan turned his thoughts back to the task at hand and faced the students once more. At least three of the twelve kids were standing more than one foot behind the imaginary line on the ground.

Maybe the kids would get it if he were to paint a real line on the stage floor?

No, Ryan dismissed that idea instantly. He wouldn't smear paint on the precious wooden theater floor just to show them what line he meant. He'd have to remove the paint afterwards and that was something he couldn't ever picture himself doing. He was an Evans, he didn't do manual labor.

After another ten minutes of futile attempts to explain what he wanted them to do Ryan dismissed the students with a short: "Class is over, see you on Friday!" and started packing his things together.

Looking quite relieved the boys and girls practically flew from the stage and in going Ryan overheard some of their complaints.

"I don't see why we can't practice with real lines on the ground! We've always had some pointers on the floor with Ms. Darbus, remember?" the boy named Steve said.

"Yeah, but I also remember what a pain in the ass it was to scrubb the paint off afterwards! I'm glad we don't have to do that anymore. But you're right, some pointers on stage would be nice!"

A small blond girl, Tracy, Ryan thought her name was, piped up: "Too bad we can't have dance lessons in the gym. I think with all those marks and lines on the floor even I could get the moves right!"

'That's it,' Ryan thought astonished, 'the gym! Why didn't I think of that? The ground with all those play marks would be perfect for dance practice!'

And Ryan decided on his way home to ask first Ms. Darbus and then Coach Bolton for permission to use the gym for the dancing class. He would ask first thing in the morning.

* * *

When Ryan arrived at the gym on Friday afternoon he thought about how easy it had been to get the permission to use the gym for his lessons. He didn't even have to rely on his thoroughly worked out speech. Or rather the speech Sharpay had worked out for him, because Ryan had never been good at that kind of thing. It was more up his sister's alley. And she had helped him with surprisingly few complains (at least for her).

Well, now Ryan hadn't even needed to use the speech.

Ms. Darbus had given her favorite student free reign pretty much anyway and the only thing Coach Bolton had insisted on when asked had been the promise that Ryan's schedule wouldn't clash with basketball practice or any other (minor) school sports.

And as it turned out, Friday afternoon the basketball team was the last to use the gym and their practice ended at four. And since four happened to be Ryan's scheduled time for class, it would all fit perfectly. He simply had to leave a note with the changed location for the students on the black board.

Ryan hoped that all the kids had read the note, or otherwise he would be standing pretty much alone in the gym.

But he needn't have to worry because when Ryan entered the gym through the locker rooms he saw all his students (**his** students, that sounded good somehow) sit on one of the benches. The basketball team had already left, that is, all but one member.

A single player, clad in the red Wildcats jersey and with his hair tied back, was dribbling past imaginary opponents towards the basket at the far end of the gym.

It was Chad.

Ryan waved briefly to the students for greeting and then made his way over to the other end of the gym where Chad was still throwing hoops without noticing the new arrival.

"Hey Danforth," Ryan shouted after the jock had scored once again, "your time is up!"

"Huh?" Chad spun around startled at the sudden approach. "Oh, hey Ryan! What are you doing here?"

"Apparently wasting my talents on teaching those kids," Ryan replied loud enough for Chad to hear but nobody else. He didn't want to offend the students, they weren't that bad after all. True, the last lesson hadn't gone that well, but it had been partly Ryan's fault. He'd been in a bad mood all day and had let it out on the poor kids.

The prior week's lesson had shown that at least half of the group had gotten the basic steps right. And Ryan hoped that today, with a little help from the changed location, he would be able to up the pace a notch.

He was in the mood for something… happy and sexy. Maybe Salsa? Mambo?

"Your talents, hm? And what would that be?" Chad's teasing got Ryan back on track and he threw a suggestive grin at the jock.

"Oh, you know…the usual. Just about everything actually," he answered and let his body fall into a quick pose of pure confidence before he stole the basketball from Chad's hands in one clever move and threw it at the hoop.

Of course the ball didn't reach its goal but dropped to the ground a few good feet away from the basket. But still… points for intent.

"Right," Chad laughed, "very talented you are!"

He ran across the gym to retrieve his basketball and returned only a moment later to Ryan's side who'd by now walked over to the patiently waiting students.

"Okay," the jock panted, "I'll leave you and your talents to the kids then. See you tonight!" And then he started walking towards the locker rooms.

"Tonight?" Ryan asked astonished, "What's tonight?"

Chad turned around and answered, walking backwards now:

"Gabriella's birthday party, Ryan! Don't tell me you forgot?"

Ryan's eyes grew large and he smashed a hand onto his forehead in shock. "Oh, right! The party!"

"Yeah," Chad shouted across the gym, "eight o'clock, okay? And don't eat dinner beforehand, Gabs said her mom would make her famous brownies!"

"Sure, got it!" Ryan smiled, the prospect of his favorite treat making his mouth water already.

"Okay then! See you at Gabs'!"

Chad waved goodbye and vanished through the door.

"Yeah, bye," Ryan replied happily and turned towards the students with a genuine smile on his face.

He was really looking forward to the party. And not just due to Mrs. Montez's brownies.

Although they probably were the best brownies in the world.

* * *

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

** Chapter Five**

When Ryan returned home from his dancing class a little later he steered his "RD" into the Evans's driveway and stopped the car right behind his sister's pink convertible. He knew that Sharpay would have a major fit if she'd see that but right now he couldn't care less.

She'd probably scream like a banshee and demand that he'd at once remove that slowcoach from her sight (and maybe suggest that he'd sink it in the nearest river like she'd recommended before).

Yeah, well… Sharpay really didn't like his car, though Ryan couldn't figure out why.

Okay, it was tiny and yellow and their mom had lovingly christened it "Ryan's Ducky" (though he preferred the shorter RD) but…

Really, what was wrong with that?

His mom had always called him Ducky (or duckling when he'd been younger) and, well… the car was after all a yellow Citroen 2CV. Though it wasn't the average one; his car was one of the very special "2CV James Bond", a limited production series the French car company had released in the 1980's honored that the legendary British spy had been driving a yellow 2CV in the movie "For Your Eyes Only" (really, Ryan had found all the little details on the internet)… so all in all… what name would be more fitting than "Ryan's Ducky"?

Well, clearly Sharpay didn't see it that way.

And she would never lower herself as much as to be seen getting anywhere by a flying rag top that was mocked as "The Duck" nearly everywhere in the world, classic or not.

So Ryan knew that in order to avoid Sharpay's wrath due to the current parking situation he would have to set his Ducky aside before long. And then the twins would take the pink SE Fabulous for getting to the party tonight.

But re-parking his car had to wait till after he'd taken a shower. Ryan was in dire need of one right now because… well, he smelled sweaty.

Tutoring the dancing class had been real fun today; and maybe the thought of tonight's party had made him extra giddy… whatever it had been, Ryan had really spent himself showing the students how the Mambo and Salsa could be done if performed by a true professional like him.

* * *

Entering his home the blond boy straightly climbed up the stairs and went for his room; already kicking off his shoes and buttoning down his shirt. But his attempts to quickly undress came to a sudden halt when the first thing he noticed inside his room was a huge and really badly wrapped gift. Ryan stared in shock at what should have been Gabriella's birthday present for about two seconds before he turned around and stormed over to his sister's room.

"Sharpay!" he shouted and, not being held up by knocking, walked into what could easily be mistaken for a fashion boutique.

"Hey," Sharpay complained with her back to the door, "does the concept of knocking ring a bell to you at all? I'm changing here!"

She hurried to pull on a short white dress that barely covered her thighs and then turned around to her brother who simply rolled his eyes at that.

Nothing he hadn't seen a million times already, so he didn't bother with an answer. Instead he threw right back:

"And does the concept of wrapping a gift somehow ring a bell to you, dear sis? Have you ever heard of wrappings that are actually pleasing to one's eyes and not offend them?" He shook his head and continued:

"I mean, come on…yellow frogs? What in the name of Christo possessed you to choose wrapping paper covered with yellow frogs?"

"If you don't like it why didn't you go have it wrapped yourself?" Sharpay sniped and added haughtily:

"And just so you know: The store sold only two different sorts of wrapping papers and if I hadn't been feeling all generous today I could have just as easily picked the other one!"

"Couldn't have been worse than frogs," Ryan muttered.

"Don't be too sure, Ry!" Sharpay sing-songed and walked over to the vanity corner of her room. "After all, it had sweet little ducklings all over it!"

Ryan groaned and stalked out of the room to finally take his well-deserved shower.

* * *

Exactly two hours, six major fashion crises and about a dozen of Sharpay's temper-tantrums later the twins eventually arrived at Gabriella's front door.

Ryan threw one last doubtful look at the gift in his hands and motioned for his sister to ring the bell already.

The box was heavy after all. And…still covered in yellow frogs!

He'd gotten over the first initial embarrassment of having to show up at Gabriella's with the ridiculous looking gift eventually but sometimes Ryan really hated his sister for the devious schemes she would come up with just for the fun of it. And sometimes, like now, he just wondered if he was maybe just a little bit crazy for thinking of her little schemes as cute.

I mean, come on! A yellow frog-wrapped gift for an eighteen-year-old? It was kind of cute!

And Ryan was sure Gabriella would see the fun in it, too.

What he wasn't so sure of on the other hand was the gift itself. How would Gabriella react to what he (and Sharpay) had bought her?

Since money had never in their lives been an issue to the Evans twins the question hadn't been how much to spend on a gift for the dark-haired girl but what to get her.

After all, Ryan had really come to like her and therefore he'd thought very carefully about what would please the girl.

And then a few days ago he'd involuntarily overheard Taylor and Gabs chatting their mouth's away after lunch and suddenly an idea for the perfect gift had sprung to Ryan's mind.

Now, standing at Gabriella's front door waiting for her to let them in Ryan all but hoped that his idea would indeed turn out to be perfect.

Well, he was about to find out for right then the door was opened by a short woman in her mid-forty's; long dark hair like Gabriella's falling in soft waves onto her shoulders.

"I guess you must be the Evans twins," she said for a greeting and waved them inside.

"Well, duh!" Sharpay whispered, as if someone not knowing her on sight was completely foreign to her.

Well, she was Sharpay Evans, so it probably was.

* * *

Mrs. Montez had ushered the twins inside and had motioned for them to leave the heavy box on the table in the dining room. Several other, smaller, gifts had already sat there and after one confirming look that, yes, none of them had been opened yet, Ryan had wondered when Gabriella would unwrap them.

Gabriella, who'd come looking for the new arrivals when Ryan was just about to correct the angle of his new burgundy hat (bought solely for this occasion), had explained that it was kind of a tradition in her family to open the gifts exactly at midnight, no matter when the birthday had really been.

"So if the party turns out to be boring there's still the prospect of receiving gifts to freshen it up," she joked and led them into the living room.

"Wow, no need for that tonight I guess!" Ryan answered, and really, the living room was buzzing with people.

It seemed as if East High's entire senior year was crammed into the comfortable Montez' home; there were countless heads bobbing to the rhythm of the music in the middle of the room and all around the self-made dance floor people were standing in little groups chatting and laughing and simply having a really good time.

"Okay," Gabriella tried to be heard above all the sound, "refreshments are over there," she pointed to a door that probably led into the kitchen, "and you see the big crowd there? That's where my mom has placed her brownies!" Ryan's eyes followed her outstretched hand towards maybe a dozen party guests surrounding a small coffee table.

"You should go there first if you still wanna get some!" Gabriella winked and added "Okay guys, have fun!" before she vanished among the crowd.

Ryan turned around to his sister only to notice that Sharpay had already gone off without him. He made out the back of her blond head somewhere to his right, already surrounded by several admirers and totally ignoring him.

"Okay," he encouraged himself, "time to jump right in!"

Maybe he should try to soften the sudden nervous fluttering in his stomach with one of those delicious brownies?

* * *

Chad thought he had been really lucky to get the last unoccupied armchair in Gabriella's living room. Really, where did all those people come from? He didn't know half of them, or, well… he did maybe, but he hadn't known that Gabriella was friends with all of them, too.

The place really buzzed with people and Chad's head was starting to swim from all the noise. Or, had someone perhaps spiked the punch?

Well, whatever it was, he was feeling slightly lightheaded and was therefore really glad for the seat he had found for himself.

He didn't have to sit squashed on the couch like Troy and Zeke and three other guys from the basketball team. And on top of that Chad could easily reach for the tray full of awesome brownies right in front of him without having to get up.

Speaking of… the amount of brownies had shrunk alarmingly and if he wanted to get the last one available (he'd only had three so far and he was a growing boy after all) he decided he should move fast.

So Chad slid a bit forward in his seat and reached for the last brownie when just exactly at that moment a pale hand shot out from the opposite end of the table and snatched the precious treat from the plate.

"Hey," Chad shouted and looked up annoyed, ready to let loose a salvo of complains, "that one's…"

He stopped mid-air and watched open-mouthed when Ryan Evans brought the incredibly pale hand with the brownie to his mouth to take a great bite off.

"…mine…" Chad finished lamely, unable to pull his eyes away.

The other boy didn't seem to notice that he'd become the single target of Chad's attention but continued to enjoy the chocolaty goodness, nibbling at it with gusto and devouring every inch of it with his eyes closed in sheer delight.

When he'd let the last bit of brownie vanish down his throat he finally opened his eyes only to notice his fingers were covered in sticky molten chocolate. Without a thought he started licking it off, involuntarily resembling a cat licking its paws after it had just gotten the canary.

Through all of this Chad had sat frozen on the edge of his seat, not able to tear his gaze away from the show Ryan was unconsciously presenting.

The jock stared at Ryan's pale face showing nothing but bliss, and it seemed to Chad as if he really saw the other boy for the very first time.

He took notice of everything he'd never seen before; the eyes that were highlighted by Ryan's outfit (though that was mostly black and red and shouldn't be capable of emphasizing blue eyes at all, Chad thought distractedly), the few strands of golden hair that peeked out from under the hat, the mouth with full red lips (but not girlish at all) that opened ever so slightly to show white teeth and a pink tongue that darted out every now and then to lick those pale and slender fingers clean. And…

'Oh God, what is he doing?' Chad's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw Ryan sticking his thumb into his mouth and start… sucking.

Chad couldn't stop a groan from coming out at the sight and he suddenly felt like he needed to jump out of his seat and…

… right at the blond boy.

Oh God! He had to get out of here, like… right now!

Chad jumped up from his seat and nearly fell flat on the coffee table when he suddenly lost his balance. He tore his gaze away from Ryan eventually and looked down to see he'd stumbled over Troy's feet.

His best friend looked at him from the side and, worried by Chad's weird behavior, asked concerned:

"Dude, are you okay?"

"No, I… I just…" Chad broke of helplessly.

God, what was happening here? He looked back to the boy who'd been the cause of all this strangeness and realized that Ryan was suddenly staring right back at him as if he were the next thing he wanted to stick into his mouth.

That was too much.

Without a word Chad turned and jumped over the armchair he'd been occupying to push his way through the crowd and make a beeline for the bathroom.

Fuck, what was wrong with him?

* * *

**TBC**

**Okay, I guess you all know what's wrong with Chad, don't you? But seriously, I have a problem. I just noticed that this is all wrong! I had planned for Ryan to be falling for Chad first and now… well, look at what he did to poor Chad! Damn, I guess this is what's bound to happen when you write a summary before you've actually written the story. Well, that's life!**

**Coming next: Chad confronts Ryan (or is it the other way round?) and of cause… you'll get to see what's the gift Ryan got for Gabriella.**

**Oh, and in case anyone is interested in Ryan's car: I've got a picture! At my LiveJournal account, jippie! Please, have a look!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, now this is the new and worked-over version of Chapter Six that I originally posted last night after 10 hours of constant writing. As I thought, it was full of mistakes that are now hop****efully corrected. Well, at least I did the math-thing right this time. Really: 17 minus 7 minus 9 minus a few years?? That couldn't work, could it? Well, I corrected that.**

**I hope you like the songs used in here.**

**Oh, and special thanks to Christel and Anke who put the idea for Ryan's song into my head.**

**Okay, in case you've forgotten where we left… Chad just stormed out because he'd stared at Ryan a bit too intensively for his own liking.**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

"Okay… what was that?"

Troy had watched his best friend practically flee from the room for as long as he could track the eye-catching hair through the crowd and then returned his gaze back to the remaining people around him.

"Oh, hi Ryan," he suddenly addressed the blond boy who was standing opposite, "I didn't see you there."

"Hi," Ryan answered and at the same time Zeke commented:

"Well, Chad obviously did!"

"Huh?"

This time it had been Ryan and Troy who'd spoken together. And they even sported the same look of bewilderment on their faces.

"What do you mean?" Troy asked.

"Well, Chad obviously noticed Evans being here; he was staring at him or, more likely, staring after the last brownie for the whole time," Zeke smirked.

"Oh," Ryan blushed, "I didn't notice that I took the last one."

"Yeah, but Chad did!" Zeke went on, "And now he's probably gone off sulking in private because you took it from him."

Troy laughed out loud at the comment but, seeing Ryan's expression change into a face of true guilt, he quickly sobered enough to settle:

"Relax, Ryan. That was a joke. Chad isn't like that, you know. He'd never be mad at someone for something so petty as stealing his favorite treat."

Ryan relaxed visibly; but only until Troy's next words pierced his ears:

"Well dude, not for too long anyway."

"Okay, that was a joke, too. Right?" Ryan asked anxiously.

Troy and Zeke just laughed.

* * *

Holding a grudge over the loss of the brownie had in fact been the last thing on Chad's mind while he'd been staring at his own reflection in the bathroom mirror, forcing his lungs to breathe steadily in and out and somehow get a grip on his nerves and calm down from…

… yeah, from what exactly?

What the hell had just happened?

He had looked at Ryan Evans eating a brownie. That's all, right?

Well, okay, he'd WATCHED Ryan. He, Chad Danforth, had been watching another guy. And not just any other guy, he'd watched RYAN EVANS,the Drama King. Shocked, stunned, unable to tear his eyes away.

Mesmerized.

And why?

Because Ryan had looked gorgeous, that's why.

But how? I mean, not that Ryan wasn't allowed to look gorgeous from time to time; everybody deserved a little gorgeousness now and then. And, objectively speaking, the male half of the Evans twins was most times quite easy on the eye… if he wasn't wearing one of his most flamboyant outfits. He wasn't fat or had ugly spots all over his face… and with the eyes and the smile…

'Okay', Chad shook his head and tried to get his thoughts back on track, 'so Ryan is a good-looking dude.'

Nothing wrong with admitting that. Acknowledging the looks of a male didn't automatically make someone gay these days, did it?

No, not when every third commercial on TV was about how men should start grooming their looks by dying gray hair or using anti-aging-products. Most of these commercials were made by men after all. And Chad wouldn't believe that every publicity manager in the country was gay.

Maybe half of them…

But not everyone, and also… certainly not him.

Chad Danforth wasn't gay, period. He' been into girls ever and… hadn't he dated Taylor for the most part of last year? He wasn't…

"Taylor, that's it!" the jock suddenly shouted through the empty bathroom.

It was all Taylor's fault!

She was gay! She had been gay all through the months they'd dated. So what if the girl had infected him somehow?

Okay, now that sounded ridiculous even to him. Chad knew of course that being gay wasn't passed on like some kind of infection. Like the flu or a simple cold could be passed through a kiss. But…

…what if dating a gay girl had somehow made Chad open his eyes to rather gay-related topics such as looks and clothes and… musicals?

Singing and dancing and the whole Drama stuff had at some point last year become less and less terrifying for Chad.

He remembered clearly his reaction when Troy had first announced that he was going to star in the East High winter musical. He'd been shocked to say the least.

But somewhere between the start of rehearsals and the actual "Twinkle Towne" performance Chad had gradually come to accept his friend's choice in sideline career and then, this summer, Chad had even participated in it. He still thought their performance at the Lava Spring's talent show had been real fun!

A truly weird development, wasn't it?

But it all fit together perfectly in Chad's mind.

First a gay girlfriend, then suddenly liking theater stuff and now noticing Ryan Evans was gorgeous – it fit.

But it didn't mean that he was gay.

It just didn't.

Right, okay then. Having established that train of thought in his head Chad opened the faucet and splashed cold water onto his face. After all, it wouldn't do to occupy a bathroom for about ten minutes and not even use it.

And he chose ice-cold water simply because his head had gotten all hot from thinking so much; it had nothing to do with trying to freeze the lingering feeling that his brain had just come up with the most ridiculous explanation ever or that he was overlooking something really big in all of this.

No, absolutely not.

* * *

Chad eventually emerged from the bathroom but he didn't feel like joining the party yet again and so he quickly grabbed a coke from the kitchen and went out into the backyard for a bit of fresh air.

The Montez' home had a nice little back porch and there Chad sat down onto the steps that led to a small but well-groomed lawn.

"Hey Chad!" a quiet voice suddenly addressed him from his right.

The jock quickly turned his head and was stunned once more tonight by the sight of the Drama King that had occupied his mind a bit too often this evening.

Ryan was sitting there on the banister, legs stretched out lazily and with his arms crossed behind his head.

He was the very picture of relaxation and composure – and still gorgeous to Chad.

The jock noticed a nervous flattering inside his stomach and squashed it down by asking a bit too annoyed:

"Evans, what are you doing out here?"

"Just… hiding I guess," Ryan answered and pulled his arms back from behind his head. He'd watched the dark-haired boy for any signs of lingering resentment from the whole "stealing-the-last-brownie" thing but couldn't detect any. It seemed as if Troy had been right after all, Chad wouldn't hold a grudge against him because of that. But why had he run away earlier then? Maybe he could find out by talking to him.

"Hiding? From who?" Chad inquired and watched Ryan jumping off the banister in one graceful movement. The blond boy walked up next to him and then slid down onto the step Chad was already occupying. Chad scooted over to make room and waited silently for an answer.

"Don't know," Ryan finally replied, gazing down onto his shoes and then up into the dark backyard, "my sister mostly."

Chad snorted. "What does the ice-princess want now?"

Ryan smiled slightly at the nickname, it was so very fitting. For a brief second he wondered whether Chad had a nickname for him, too. But he didn't dare to ask in case it was something equally flattering. He knew that most students at East High called him the Drama King already and who knew what Chad could come up with if dared.

When Chad thought there wasn't likely an answer to come he nudged the other boy softly in the ribs.

"Ryan?"

"Oh, you know," Ryan finally replied and looked back at his shoes, "the usual."

Chad wasn't fooled one second by the pretended indifference. Ryan wouldn't meet his eyes and his whole posture screamed 'There's something weighing on my mind but I don't dare to tell'.

Chad saw his chance to finally get to know the Drama King a little better if he'd do this right. And he thought that Ryan probably didn't get the chance to talk about his feelings very often. Not with Sharpay around. So he gently coaxed:

"Meaning?"

"She wants her poodle to back her up I guess." Ryan's smile seemed forced.

"Hey, don't call yourself that, Ryan. You're not Sharpay's poodle!" Chad was upset at how very unimportant Ryan took himself.

"Certainly feels that way some times," Ryan let out.

"Ryan, why do you always let her walk all over you?" Chad asked cautiously. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I know she's scary like hell and I wouldn't want to be in your shoes, having to deal with her all the time, but… why…" Chad broke off, unsure how to finish the sentence.

"She isn't always like that, Chad," Ryan said and looked at Chad suddenly, "You don't know her as well as I do. She isn't just the ice-princess, not all the time." The blond boy let a small smile graze his delicate features as if remembering some happy occasion. He added softly: "Sometimes she's just my sister. Just Sharpay, you know?"

"Maybe," Chad answered and smiled back, "but then… why won't she let you be 'Just Ryan'?"

Ryan thought about that for a moment and then tried to explain:

"You know, it's been like that between us for like… ever. And I guess it's difficult for her to suddenly act differently around me. I… I don't think she knows the other me at all." He repeated nearly inaudibly, "She doesn't know 'Just Ryan'."

"Do you know him?" Chad asked quietly and watched Ryan closely.

"A little," Ryan replied and lifted his head to look Chad squarely in the eyes, "I just wished I'd know him better."

Though it was quite dark outside and only a small sliver of yellow light from the inside illuminated the porch, Chad could clearly make out the single tear rolling down Ryan's face slowly.

"Me, too, Ryan. Me, too," Chad whispered and wondered what would happen if he were to reach out and wipe the lonely teardrop away.

He didn't know where the sudden urge had come from and he didn't let himself think about it too much. But neither did he act on the urge; Chad just couldn't find courage to touch Ryan's face but instead he sneaked his arm tentatively around the silently crying boy.

He felt Ryan stiffen for a brief second and squeezed the shoulder tightly.

"It's okay, Ry," he reassured softly, not realizing his use of the intimate shortened name, "it's okay for friends to comfort each other."

"Friends?" Ryan asked and the amount of surprise and anxiousness in his voice hurt Chad more than anything else.

"Sure," he rasped, "friends!"

And then he heard Ryan repeat the foreign word softly.

"Friends!"

It sounded good.

* * *

The two newly-announced friends didn't know how long they'd been sitting on the back porch, listening to the party sounds and enjoying being apart from all the noise.

Somewhere along the line Ryan had cautiously started talking about his every-day life with Sharpay as a sister and Chad in return had told the blond about his life with two annoying step-brothers.

Chad's parents had been divorced since he'd been seven (Ryan hadn't known that) and his mom had a few years later married again. And now Chad had two step-brother's of four and six at home to deal with; no picnic at all.

He'd even joked about switching siblings for a day or two, he was sure he could get along with Sharpay for a short time (or rather hide from her) but Ryan had politely but determinedly refused. If Chad's brother-monster's (the jock's words, not his) were anything like Chad he was sure he wouldn't survive a day.

At that comment Chad had pulled his arm from the other boy's shoulders to smack him playfully over the head. Ryan had smacked right back and quickly both boys had been laughing out loud at their childish behavior.

And then suddenly the backdoor had been pulled open and a voice they'd recognized as Gabriella's had cried:

"Chad, Ryan! There you are!" She'd stepped outside and had added: "I haven't seen you at all tonight, have you two been hiding from me all this time?"

Ryan had then thrown a look at his watch and had been shocked to see that it was nearly midnight. He'd been sitting here with Chad for more than two hours!

When Ryan mentioned the time Chad simply hadn't believed that it was that late already and had pulled Ryan's arm towards his face to have a look at the watch himself.

And just like before, when Ryan's shoulder had felt warm long after Chad had removed his arm the blond boy could still feel the lingering touch of Chad's fingers on his wrist.

He was even feeling it now, nearly two minutes later, when he was inside again, standing around the dining table with Troy, Zeke, Kelsi, Taylor, Sharpay and of course Chad to finally watch Gabriella open her gifts.

Surprisingly all the other guests had left already to join another party, but none of the ones who'd stayed was truly sad about it. Now it was just them, the Wildcats; the inner circle so to speak.

Ryan felt a warm glow spread through his body when Gabriella called them that, him and Sharpay included. He threw a short glance in Chad's direction only to see the jock smile right back at him.

Friends, right?

Gabriella had meanwhile started to open all her gifts and one happy squeal followed the other at the sight of all those pretty things her friends had gotten her.

Troy's present was of cause the best, that is… she had yet to open one last gift. So… no promises yet.

The gift left was the large box wrapped in ridiculously cute frog-covered paper and she recalled it to be the one the Evans twins had brought.

Well, Ryan had been the one to carry the heavy looking box all the way from their car and Gabriella was sure that he'd also been the one to choose and buy it. She couldn't picture Sharpay getting her anything, ever.

"Come on, Gabs! Open it already!" Taylor nudged her side and pulled the large box over the table for Gabriella to have a better access.

"Okay, okay," the tiny girl laughed and began to pull the frog-paper off carefully. She would love to keep the wrappings as well, they were just too cute.

Finally Gabriella had uncovered the gift and she, as well as all the others (well, apart from Sharpay and Ryan obviously), stared in awe at…

"Oh my God!" Gabriella screamed and ran around the table to pull first Ryan and then a more reluctant Sharpay into a big hug.

"Guys, that is so… I don't… oh wow!" she finally stuttered.

Ryan let out a breath he'd been holding. He'd been insecure to the last minute whether Gabriella would like the gift. But now it looked like she did, right?

Right, as well as all the others who were now ooh-ing and awe-ing and craning their necks to have a better look. The only one not looking overjoyed was Zeke who stared bewildered at the black… thing that Troy was now pulling out of the cardboard box.

"What is it?" he dared to ask eventually. To him it looked like a mixture of a stereo system and a laptop.

"It's a karaoke machine, dumbo!" Sharpay told him finally.

"A karaoke machine?"

"Yes, you know… for singing karaoke at home?" Troy added helpfully.

"Ryan, Sharpay," Gabriella addressed the twins after a while, "it's absolutely… wow! But… I can't… I mean… that is too much. You shouldn't have spent…"

Sharpay cut her off with a wave of a hand. "Oh, shut up, it's just money!"

"But…" Gabriella was at a loss.

"Really Gabriella, it's okay. It wasn't that expensive!" Ryan quickly assured the girl. Because… well, spending what was possibly a month worth saving to others on a gift wasn't a big deal to him and his twin.

But seeing the joy in Gabriella's eyes certainly was.

"Thank you guys," the girl hushed now, "Really, thank you!"

"You're welcome," Ryan smiled and then he started explaining how the karaoke machine worked.

* * *

"Okay, I got it!" Chad announced a while later and emerged from behind the TV where he'd been trying to insert all the right cables to make the karaoke system work.

"Now you just have to insert a CD and press play and then… well, start singing. Or, so I guess!"

"Let's try," Gabriella jumped up from the couch and ran over to collect the stack of CD's that had been included in the gift. She put all but one on the table for the others to sift through and studied the titles the one in her hands held. "Love-Classics Collection", just what she needed.

Gabriella couldn't wait to try out HER OWN karaoke system. What an awesome gift it was, and so considerate. She stole a glance over at Ryan in the armchair and couldn't help but send him a big smile. She never would have guessed that he'd be that thoughtful, or even caring but at the same time she knew it must have been his idea solely. Sharpay had surely nothing to do with it, she just couldn't imagine the Drama Queen being involved. So Ryan had to be the one responsible. And he must have reflected very carefully about her to come up with such a fitting idea.

Gabriella briefly wondered if Troy would've ever thought about a gift that personal. At least it was personal for the couple. After all, they'd first met each other singing karaoke.

But then she threw a look at her left wrist and the gift Troy had given her and she felt guilty immediately. The elegant silver bracelet with the small notes and keys was shimmering brightly in the dim light of the living room. It was really beautiful; not gaudy or showy but simply elegant. So very her.

Once more Gabriella felt that she'd found the best boyfriend ever and she was really happy to have him.

"Ooh, I've found the perfect song!" she suddenly exclaimed and broke into a wide smile. "Troy, would you sing it with me?"

Troy had to throw just one look at her smiling face to know that he could never deny his beautiful girlfriend anything.

"Which song? Do I at least know it?" he teased her.

"Sure, it's a classic!" And with that Gabriella jumped once again from her seat and put the CD into the system. Then she grabbed the two mike's and gave one to Troy, pulling him up from the couch by his sleeve.

The others all waited impatiently for the song to begin and, sure enough, the next second soft tunes sounded from the speakers.

And then Gabriella began to sing:

_You know our love is meant to be  
The kind of love that lasts forever_

Then Troy took over:

_And I want you here with me  
from tonight until the end of time_

And then the couple sang together:

_You should know, everywhere I go  
You're always on my mind, in my heart , in my soul_

_Baby, You're the meaning in my life  
You're the inspiration  
You bring feeling to my life  
You're the inspiration  
Wanna have you near me  
I wanna have you hear me sayin  
No one needs you more than I need you  
_

'That's the perfect song for them,' Chad couldn't help but think, especially when the next verse began.

_And I know, yes I know that its plain to see  
We're so in love when we're together_

The others would have agreed had he spoken loud, but no one, not even Chad, dared to make a sound while the couple sang their hearts out. Everybody listened enraptured as Troy and Gabriella performed the conclusion of the song in tune.

_when you love somebody  
till the end of time  
when you love somebody  
always on my mind  
no one needs you more than I  
when you love somebody  
till the end of time  
when you love somebody  
always on my mind_

Everyone broke into cheering applause when the music slowly faded away. Troy and Gabriella both blushed but shared a happy smile and Ryan couldn't help but watch them wistfully.

How would it feel to have someone look at him the way they looked at each other, so completely enchanted and… in love?

Would he ever feel that way? Find someone who…

"Okay, who's next?" Troy's voice broke through Ryan's thoughts and everyone looked at each other expectantly.

"Ryan," Gabriella announced determined and threw a glance at the surprised blond, "after all, it's his gift for me. So he's got to have a go now."

"Hey," Sharpay piped up from her place on the couch, "it's OUR gift, so… of course we'll do it together. I found the perfect song for me… ugh, us. Ryan?"

The Drama Queen looked at her twin awaiting nothing but a confirmation but then Zeke suddenly threw in:

"Didn't you say earlier that Ryan came up with the idea for the gift and bought it alone? That you had to do nothing but wrap it?"

Silence followed that blatant statement and then Sharpay actually had the grace to look a little ashamed but knocked an elbow into Zeke's ribs nevertheless.

The others all grinned except Ryan who looked like he wanted to be anywhere else right now. And then Chad suddenly said:

"Yeah Sharpay, why don't you let your brother have the spotlight for once? I want to hear Ryan alone!"

"But… why?" Sharpay asked bewildered. No one had ever preferred Ryan's singing over hers. Never!

Ryan had been staring silently from Chad to his sister and back. Why would Chad want to have him sing on his own? Unless… had the jock actually been listening earlier when they'd been sitting outside? Had he actually understood that Ryan sometimes longed to step away from being nothing but his sister's prop?

"Because…," Chad was meanwhile searching for a reason that would be acceptable even for Sharpay and came up with nothing. He couldn't say that he rather liked Ryan's voice, could he?

So he went for no reason at all but simply said: "Just because, okay? Or do you think that he can't sing without you?"

Chad's look dared her to say anything in reply and for once the Powers That Be seemed to listen to him for Sharpay simply waved off and sniped:

"Pfft, let him sing alone, see how much I care!"

"Good," Chad grinned and looked at Ryan expectantly, "come on Ryan. The stage is all yours."

"But… but I," Ryan stuttered when everyone was looking his way, "… I don't know what song to sing!"

"You know most songs on the CD, don't you?" Gabriella asked gently. She'd spotted one of her favorite tunes on it earlier and she'd love to hear it from him.

"Yes, but…" Ryan tried to protest.

"Okay, then I've just the right song for you. Come on, Ryan. Please, it's my favorite."

Gabriella threw the reluctant boy her puppy-eyes look, the one she knew Troy was never able to withstand. Maybe it would work on Ryan, too. And sure enough, the blond boy slowly rose from his seat and went to take the mike from her. The others cheered for him (apart from Sharpay of course) while Gabriella searched for the right track number on the CD.

"Okay, what song?" he asked her, "It's not a love song, is it? I'm not… I mean… I don't like ballades that much," he lied, unable to confess that he liked them just as good as any other style, he just knew that he wasn't too good at singing them.

"Well," the girl smiled mysteriously, "it is a love song, but not a slow one. No worries!"

She gave him one last encouraging shove towards the 'stage' and then went to take a seat in her boyfriend's lap. Soon enough an up-tempo intro started to sound and Ryan recognized the song after the first beat. He smiled surprised and began to sing with sudden but not unusual confidence:

_I need love, love_

_Ooh, easy my mind_

_And I need to find time _

_Someone to call mine;_

_My mama said _

_You can't hurry love _

_No, you'll just have to wait _

_She said love don't come easy _

_But it's a game of give and take _

Everyone in the living room, even Sharpay, was astonished how well the song fit Ryan's clear tenor voice.

"Wow," Chad let out unconsciously, "he's… ouch!" Chad shut his mouth quickly and rubbed the spot where Taylor had suddenly kicked his shin to shut him up.

Ryan had continued singing meanwhile and was proving that he absolutely didn't need his sister on stage with him to show a brilliant performance. In fact, now that he held the stage on his own he dared to make some moves Sharpay would never let him do while with him. He slid round and spun his feet in a way that convinced everyone around of the fact that years of practice indeed paid off. Ryan Evans was a perfect performer when solo, he was simply brilliant.

_How long must I wait _

_How much more must I take _

_Before loneliness _

_Will cause my heart, heart to break_

_No, I can't bear to live my life alone_

_I grow impatient for a love to call my own_

_But when I feel that I, I can't go on _

_Well these precious words keep me hanging on_

_I remember mama said _

_You can't hurry love _

_No, you'll just have to wait…_

For the second time that night Chad simply couldn't take his eyes off of Ryan. But this time everyone else was staring, too and so Chad didn't care the slightest bit but kept watching the blond performer mesmerized.

_Now love, love don't come easy_

_But I keep on waiting _

_Anticipating for that soft voice _

_To talk to me at night _

_For some tender arms_

_Hold me tight I keep waiting _

'Is he… waiting?' Chad couldn't help ask himself. He thought that maybe Ryan was doing so well with this song because the lyrics seemed to come straight from his heart.

Were those his words? Did Ryan Evans long for someone to come along, someone to talk to at night and hold him in his arms?

And hadn't Chad just spent the better part of the evening doing just that?

What did that mean?

_My mama said _

_You can't hurry love _

_No, you'll just have to wait _

_She said love don't come easy _

_It's a game of give and take..._

_You can't hurry love_

_No, you'll just have to wait _

_She said love don't come easy_

_It's a game of give and take..._

When the song slowly faded away Ryan kept on singing a few tunes without background till he suddenly seemed to remember that he wasn't alone in the room.

While singing he'd been completely concentrated on his own feelings and had forgotten everything else around him. But now he noticed Troy and Gabriella, Taylor, Zeke, Kelsi and even Sharpay stare at him like they'd never seen him before.

And Chad?

The jock looked… just weird.

He was frowning slightly confused and seemed a bit green in the face. But at the same time it seemed as if he couldn't stop a slow grin from coming forth when he came out of his trance-like state reluctantly.

And when Chad's eyes had cleared enough to see Ryan staring straight at him Chad actually blushed.

Ryan had never seen Chad blush before, he'd thought the other boy with his darker skin wasn't even capable of changing color.

But apparently he was.

And now Ryan felt his own face heat up in return.

"Wow, that was… Ryan, you're…" Gabriella finally broke the stunned silence and leaped up from Troy's lap to pull Ryan into an enthusiastic hug.

"Brilliant!" Sharpay finished for the other girl, which earned her shocked gasps from everyone.

"What?" she asked casually. "He is!"

"Yes, but for you to notice eventually…" Chad voiced everybody's thought.

"Hey, he's an Evans!" Sharpay declared as if that fact alone would explain Ryan's brilliancy. And to her it certainly did.

"He's my twin, how could he not be brilliant?"

* * *

TBC 

… **right now, go on to Chapter Seven **:-)


	7. Chapter 7

Okay, just a reminder: I've just re-posted Chapter Six as well (because of all the mistakes my sleepy mind made last night) and if you've been one of the few people who read the first version then you should go back and read the new one as well. I made some small but important changes, mainly talking about Chad's reaction to Ryan's singing I guess.

Go read it now and then come back here :-)

* * *

Chapter Seven 

"He's my twin, how could he not be brilliant?"

Ryan beamed at his sister's compliment and then looked over to Chad as if to say:

'See what I meant earlier? She can be nice when she's just Sharpay!'

Chad knew what Ryan's look tried to say and he willed his eyes to equally express what he was thinking: 'And you can be just Ryan. You're brilliant after all.'

Ryan understood and smiled tentatively while he put the mike back onto the coffee table and sat down in his armchair. His glass of soda was still waiting in front of him and he took several quick sips from it to ease the dry feeling in his throat.

Singing your heart out with all you've got left you quite thirsty he realized.

After Ryan's dazzling performance no one but Sharpay had the nerve to be the next on stage. The others had gotten quite self-conscious; after all… they felt that Ryan's performance couldn't be topped by any of them.

So it had fallen on Sharpay to choose a song and, who would have thought, she went for "Cuz I can"; a number that fit her perfectly.

They all had to grin at the lines:

"_You can try and try you can't beat me"_

"_You know I'm rare; You stop and stare; You think I care I don't"_

And when Sharpay sang:

"_I could fit your whole house in my swimming pool;_

_My life's a fantasy that you're not smart enough to even dream"_

Some of them had to stifle a laugh but at the same time they were all impressed by the way Sharpay managed to perfectly impersonate "Pink"; she'd hit the blond singer dead on.

And Sharpay seemed to really enjoy performing just for the fun of it. Before, it had always been about winning and outshining everybody else to her, but now she seemed to actually enjoy making fun of herself while singing.

Nobody, not even Ryan, would have thought that the Drama Queen was capable of that and in realizing that he was once again very proud to be her twin.

Sharpay's fun performance had convinced even Taylor and Kelsi to take their shot at karaoke, though the latter seemed to really miss being able to hide behind the piano for once. The small composer hadn't felt much at ease while performing the song Taylor had insisted on, a true classic from the famous "Weather Girls".

And that's why Kelsi was truly glad when Zeke and Chad suddenly jumped off the couch mid-song to act as the men that were raining, hallelujah. The two boys moved around the singers with arms spread wide and fingers dancing like falling rain drops and everybody laughed at the startling impromptu performance.

"That was awesome!" Troy managed to get out between chokes of laughter when the song had ended and the four friends plopped down onto their seats again.

"Dudes, you should join the Drama club," he grinned at Chad and Zeke, "you make remarkable raindrops!"

"Thanks," the jocks smirked back and Chad added: "I've always thought that song's just perfect for my special rain-dance."

"Yeah, right!" Troy laughed and then he grabbed a mike from the table and threw it at the surprised Zeke.

"And now you've gotta sing!"

"What? No!" The sudden shock on the jock's face was enough to make the others laugh out loud again.

"No way, no! I won't! Play raining-down-men is just about all that I can manage! Sorry," Zeke declined and no coaxing could convince him otherwise.

"Well, okay then," Sharpay finally said, "then it's your turn, Curly-Sue!" And she threw the mike over to Chad.

"Hey, watch out ice-princess!" Chad shot back, but not offended at all. He couldn't do anything about his curls but…

… he could do something about singing!

"And you can forget that thought quickly again," he added determined, "I won't sing!"

"Oh, really?" Ryan chimed in from the side, "Just like you wouldn't dance at the country club? Look at how that turned out!"

Everybody laughed at that, after all they all remembered how Chad had refused to dance, all the while performing the wildest steps on the baseball field. And afterwards he'd danced at the talent show, too.

So… it didn't look good for him, did it?

"Come on, Chad!" they all begged simultaneously and the jock just knew that he didn't stand a chance.

"Okay, okay…" he finally gave in and was about to take a look at the CD's to search for a song he'd know when Gabriella snatched one of them and, after showing a title to Chad, begged:

"Come on Chad. It's my favorite!"

The dark-skinned boy threw a doubtful glance first at the title and then at the girl.

"No way! That one's sung by a woman!"

He wouldn't sing a girl's song, no matter how much he secretly liked it. "And didn't you say that Ryan's song was your favorite already?"

"I have many favorites, Chad. Come on, it's fun. And a great song! And it's my party!" Gabriella whined and Chad had no choice but to give in eventually.

So he rose from his seat and Gabriella rushed to put the right CD into the system. And a moment later a soft intro rang out to the awaiting audience.

Chad waited for the cue-beat to come and finally he started singing:

I know all about,

Yea about your reputation  
And now it's bound to be a heartbreak situation  
But I can't help it if I'm helpless  
Every time that I'm where you are

Chad struggled with the lyrics at first but then he managed to ease into the song and his voice rang out loud and steady through the living room. He didn't exactly realize what he was singing, he simply read the words and sang them as best as he could.

You walk in and my strength walks out the door  
Say my name and I can't fight it any more

Troy watched his best friend's performance and though he didn't know the song at all he thought that the jock seemed to really breathe life into the lyrics.

They were rather fitting…

… if there'd been someone Chad was secretly crushing on. But there wasn't, was there?

Lovin you, isn't really something I should do  
Shouldn't wanna spend my time with you  
Well I should try to be strong  
But baby you're the right kind of wrong  
Ya, baby you're the right kind of wrong

Ryan of course knew the song and the lyrics by heart and he had to smile and think back to earlier that night when he'd been sitting with Chad on the back porch.

Especially when the next verse sounded.

It might be a mistake  
A mistake I'm makin'  
But what you're givin I am happy to be takin  
Cause no one's ever made me feel  
The way I feel when I'm in your arms

The blond boy knew that these words fitted his earlier situation perfectly but now that Chad sung them he couldn't help but wish that they'd hold a little truth for the jock as well.

'Wouldn't it be wonderful…' Ryan thought wistfully and kept watching Chad on stage for the smallest signs of comprehension.

I should try to run but I just can't seem to  
'Cause every time I run you're the one I run to  
Can't do without what you do to me,  
I don't care if I'm in too deep yeah

But there was no chance of that, was there? Ryan knew of course that he shouldn't get his hopes up. Becoming more than friends with Chad, the STRAIGHT Chad he reminded himself, was more than impossible.

He should be glad that the jock had declared him a friend; after all that was something new already; something Ryan truly sought to treasure.

But…

You walk in and my strength walks out the door  
Say my name and I can't fight it any more  
Oh I know, I should go  
But I need your touch just too damn much

… One still dared to whish for miracles to happen, right? No matter how unlikely they'd be. And Ryan had felt a connection with Chad earlier that he'd never experienced before. Though, he hadn't had that much experience with general friendships in the first place, so how should he know if the warm fuzzy feelings inside were signs of just being happy to finally have found a friend or…

… something more?

Ryan didn't know.

Lovin you, yeah, isn't really something I should do  
I shouldn't wanna spend my time with you ya  
Well I should try to be strong,  
But baby you're the right kind of wrong (right kind of wrong)  
Baby you're the right kind of wrong  
Baby you're the right kind of wrong

Yeah baby you're the right kind of wrong

And neither did Chad.

After the jock had finished his performance and had jokingly bowed to the applause he'd gotten he sat down onto the couch again and breathed deeply.

And then finally the lyrics of his song started to pierce Chad's brain and he noticed that they seemed to add another puzzle piece to what he thought of as his true self.

A puzzle that had started to take form earlier in the bathroom when he'd been thinking about all that… stuff.

And now Chad suddenly realized that this latest addition to the puzzle had somehow taken on the general outline of a certain blond boy.

Oh damn!

* * *

**TBC**

**Sharpay sings: "Cuz I can!" (by Pink)**

**Taylor & Kelsi sing: "It's raining men!" (by The Weather Girls)**

**Chad sings: "Right kind of wrong" (by Leann Rimes)**

**I just realized that Taylor sings about men though she's gay in this fic. But I just thought the song would fit and surely you can just like a song for it's sound and the lyrics don't have to fit your own feelings all the times, right?**

**Well, and as for Chad's song: First of all I'm sorry that it's not in italics as well, it just wouldn't work. I hate my PC! Okay, the song... I really like it and I thought it was perfect for him at first, but then… I guess I thought that if he would exactly recognize his own feelings in the lyrics he would be already on his way to admit that he's gay, and I didn't want that. So I let Ryan do all the thinking about his feelings during the song. I hope you're okay with that. **

**Please let me know your opinions…**


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry for the long delay, inspiration simply wouldn't come. This chapter turned out much more angst-y and depressing than I intended; I'm sorry for not being able to write anything happy right now. But the story will get happier soon, I promise. Hope you like this, though the first part may seem weird and not really fitting to where we left off.

* * *

Chapter Eight

Ryan stood in the doorframe of his walk-in closet and looked at the countless hangers to his left holding his most precious outfits. He'd already pulled out three different pants earlier, only to stuff them back inside after one quick glance.

No, they wouldn't do for this. Too… flashy. Looking flashy was not what Ryan needed tonight. He needed… yeah, what? He didn't know.

Maybe something more casual?

Ryan frowned and let his gaze wander along the rows of pants over to the section straight ahead of him. The shelves there held all the caps, fedoras and hats he possessed, and that weren't few. Maybe if he were to choose a hat first and then look for the rest of the outfit to match?

Yes, that would work. But… which hat should he take? The blue and green striped one? Or… maybe the gray one? Simple but elegant?

But… was elegant even the look he wanted to pull off tonight? Or should he go for boyishly sexy?

If he only knew where they were going after all! Because Ryan knew of course that it all depended on what place they would go to. Looking all dressed up and elegant would be completely foolish if they were simply going to the movies. And on the other hand, choosing a sexy boyish looking outfit would be disastrous for a night at the opera.

Not that Chad would ever take him there… but that was beside the point.

The point was, Ryan had absolutely no idea where he and Chad would end up tonight. Though of course… if he had a say in this he would settle for the backseat of a car as the place for the perfect finish.

…rather wishful thinking, was it?

Okay, thoughts out of the gutter now and back to the question at hand: where would they go?

Why, oh why hadn't he asked Chad what he had in mind for tonight?

Of course Ryan knew why… he'd been too nervous, that's all.

When Chad had called this morning to hear if Ryan had arrived home alright after the party he'd been stunned to say the least.

And then Chad had gone and suggested that, if Ryan had no other plans for the weekend, they should go out. At that Ryan had nearly fainted. Chad wanted to go out with him? On a date? He'd been barely able to string two sentences together.

So it wasn't a surprise that he hadn't thought about asking where they would go tonight. Not that it mattered much anyway. Going anywhere was fine, as long as it would be with Chad.

Well, at least Ryan had thought so. But that had been before he'd been confronted with the fashion question.

He needed to pick out the perfect outfit for this! It wouldn't do to scare Chad away by looking too… flashy or even gay at all. Unless Chad liked and wanted him to look that way… which of course he didn't know, did he?

Urrgh!

What a nightmare!

Ryan let out a frustrated sigh and took a step further into the closet. He needed to choose some clothes now! Chad would be there to pick him up in about…

He threw a look at his watch and yelped… shit, in about five minutes!

As if on cue Ryan heard the doorbell ring and he let out another frustrated shout and grabbed the first pair of pants he could reach. He was just pulling the fabric over his hips when he sensed someone standing behind.

Ryan turned around quickly and saw Chad standing there with a smirk on his face.

"Ooh, Evans. Getting all dressed up I see?"

The jock's eyes traveled over his body, lingering on the pants for a long second, and Ryan looked down his chest to catch sight of…

… what the hell? Had he really pulled on his multicolored swimming boxers?

"Ugh, Chad…" he started to explain but Chad's laughter made him stop confused.

"Dude, you're a complete dork! I'm not gonna go anywhere with you looking like that!"

Ryan didn't understand what was happening here but he did know that he didn't like the look in Chad's eyes.

They were cold and mocking.

He didn't look anything like the Chad that had shared the porch steps with him yesterday, talking about families and calling him a friend.

Nevertheless Ryan tried to make this situation right again. With another look at his boxers he said:

"Chad I'm sorry. I must have mixed up my pants, but I'm gonna change into…"

"Change?" Chad interrupted and let out a cruel laugh. "You can't change, Evans! You'll never be anything but the pathetic queer Drama freak. And you really believed that I would go out with you?"

Ryan stared at Chad in horror. What was happening here?

"I… Chad, I…" he stuttered.

"You're pathetic Evans, pathetic! You thought I'm a fag like you? Well, I'm not! And even if I was and if you were the last man on earth… I would never date you!"

Chad's arm shot forward suddenly and he pushed Ryan's shoulder hard. The shove made him stumble backwards and Ryan fell over something on the floor and landed in a heap between the rows of outfits on the coat hangers.

Chad turned around with a satisfied sneer on his face and smashed the closet door shut.

Ryan was suddenly left in pitch black darkness.

He shouted for Chad to come back, to turn on the lights again, anything to make this suffocating darkness go away.

But there was no sound coming over his lips, he couldn't scream, he couldn't make Chad come back, he could do nothing but fumble his way back onto his feet.

And then his clothes were suddenly all around him; they came rushing at him from all sides, attacking him and no matter how hard he tried to push his way through, the hangers with clothes seemed to enclose him from everywhere… they had a will on their own, the wooden hangers smashed into his face and poked into his stomach and back… and the metal ends scratched at his arms and hands and cheeks and he felt blood welling up and he tried to scream again and everything was black and…

* * *

… and Ryan woke up screaming and arms flailing around in panic. His body was twisted in sweat-damp bed sheets and tears were streaming down his face. His breath came out in shocked erratic gasps and his heart was trying to jump out through his throat.

Ryan could feel the bile rising in his esophagus and he pulled the sheets away and leaped out of bed. His legs threatened to give out from shaking so badly when he rushed into the adjoining bathroom he shared with his sister.

He reached it just in time to throw himself down onto the tiled floor in front of the toilet and then he threw up forcefully.

Ryan retched and gasped till he thought he'd choked his guts out as well. Tears were still streaming down his pale face and his heart beat like mad when he sat back on his bare heels eventually and tried to get some air back into his lungs.

And then suddenly the door to Sharpay's room flew open and his sister stood in the doorway.

"Ryan, what… eww!"

Sharpay was clad in her pink bathrobe and her pink slippers made floppy sounds on the floor when she took a few steps into the room and asked annoyed:

"You got sick? Ryan, did you drink some of that spiked punch at the party? I told you not to…"

"No, Shar!" Ryan forced out between two gasps. "Just… go away, okay?"

Sharpay watched her twin trying to get his breath back in check. The vomiting was thankfully over but he still seemed to shake like a leaf. And… Sharpay's face changed from indifferent annoyance to genuine concern when she barely heard his desperate whisper:

"Please Shar, just… go."

There was just something in Ryan's voice that… something she didn't like at all.

The blond girl walked over to her brother hunched over the toilet and crouched down next to him. One hand grabbed his upper arm to steady herself (and him, too) while the other pulled his chin in her direction. And one single look into his tear-strained face confirmed her worst worries.

Sharpay whispered:

"They're back, aren't they? The nightmares are back!"

All Ryan could do was nod shakily.

Sharpay stood up again.

"Damn, just when everything was going so perfectly!" She cursed and with a look at Ryan she added more gently: "Come on, Ry, you're freezing. Let's get you warm!"

She pulled on his arm till he stood up eventually and, shuffling his feet forward, Ryan let his twin lead him back to his room.

* * *

Once Ryan had crawled back under the covers Sharpay sat down on the bed and tugged her legs under her bathrobe, careful not to sit too close to Ryan. She'd thought briefly about crawling in bed next to her brother like she'd done years ago in situations like this but… they had been younger then. And although they were still as close as twins could be Sharpay just knew that things were different nowadays.

She wasn't the most sensitive girl in the world, far from it actually, but she simply felt that Ryan would be uncomfortable if she'd try and hug him or lie close to him.

She instinctively felt that he needed space right now.

That didn't stop her from getting him to talk though.

"Okay," she asked, "was it the locker rooms again?"

"Sharpay, I don…" Ryan started but broke off when he received the stern "you-know-I-will-make-you-tell-me-look" that she'd perfected in former years.

"No," he said dejectedly.

"The closet?"

A deep sigh was Ryan's only answer. Okay, so that's it then.

The closet with Ryan's clothes attacking and trying to suffocate him in darkness.

That particular nightmare had started a few years ago, and just like the other ones it had resulted in him becoming more and more closed-off to everything and everyone, even to her.

Not that she'd been much observant to him then; Sharpay had had enough to deal with on her own, like boys and everything.

But when she'd been woken up nearly every night by her brother's screams in panic, a panic that some nights had him even retching over the toilet like tonight, Sharpay had eventually caught on the fact that something was bothering him.

A few weeks after their fourteenth's birthday the nightmares had become so frequently that the twins had shared Sharpay's bed almost every night. Because that way Sharpay had been able to end the dreams by simply shoving him or, if that wouldn't work, waking him up by screaming into his ear without having to get out of bed and all the way over to Ryan's room.

She'd needed her beauty sleep after all. But even with that time-saving strategy they'd both been tired and in a truly bad mood the following days and that's why Sharpay had started pestering her twin to tell her about the nightmares. If they'd ever wanted to find a solution she needed to know all the particulars, their parents had taught her that kind of business strategy long ago.

And after Ryan had reluctantly spilled the beans Sharpay had helped him figure out that his dreams most likely had to do with the sexual identity crisis he'd been having then.

Ryan had been terrified of admitting to himself and those close to him that he was gay. He'd feared being rejected and outcast again. He'd already become acquainted with people who hated him for his love for theater and dancing and now people would have even more reasons to shun him or make fun of him.

Being gay would even give his own family, who'd always supported him in anything else, a reason to hate him.

And that thought had been the most petrifying for the blond boy of all. He needed his family!

When Sharpay had eventually gotten Ryan to confess all his fears to her and when he'd finally understood that she was okay with him being gay, that she didn't hate him and wouldn't abandon him because of it…

… that's when the nightmares had finally come less and less frequently.

And, Sharpay remembered as if it had been yesterday, then Miguel had come along and they'd stopped completely.

* * *

Miguel, the eighteen-year-old son of their gardener Juan, had been staying in Albuquerque for the summer break from college and he'd worked together with his father in redesigning the Evans' garden for six weeks.

Sharpay hadn't paid much attention to the dark-haired young man, he'd been openly gay after all, so why bother? But she had noticed after a while that Ryan was always looking for excuses to be able to watch Miguel work outside.

And then one day Sharpay had caught her brother making out with Miguel in a corner of the garden park (behind the tool shed of all places!).

She'd gotten an eye full of what she never whished to see again; Ryan leaning against the wall with his shirt pushed up to his armpits, Miguel's naked upper body pressed against him and one hand inside the front of Ryan's unbuttoned pants…

… nope, definitely nothing Sharpay needed to witness ever again!

But Ryan had been truly happy for the few weeks the secret sex affair had lasted.

And as long as Ryan was happy (and as a result wasn't having these nightmares) Sharpay was content, too.

She'd finally been able to get her beauty sleep again… and her bed for herself. Because she hadn't been too thrilled by the idea of having Ryan sleep next to her, now that she'd seen him 'in action'.

But…

Sharpay came eventually back out of her thoughts again and looked at her brother lying curled up in bed.

What had brought on this sudden renewal of those times? Why was Ryan having this nightmares again now?

Well, she wouldn't get any answers tonight for while Sharpay had been deep in her own thoughts and memories Ryan had fallen into a deep and, for now, peaceful sleep.

The Drama Queen slowly got off her brother's bed and threw one last look onto his still pale face.

He didn't look any older than the last time she'd stood beside his bed, watching him sleep after one of those troubling nightly disturbances. He still looked exactly like the fourteen-year-old boy who was scared of his life as a gay.

After she'd gotten back to her own room Sharpay lay in her bed, unable to fall asleep for more than an hour, tossing and turning and wondering not for the first time in life, why, oh why she couldn't be the ice-princess all the time.

Why had she to care sometimes?

* * *

Across the town Chad Danforth lay tossing and turning in his bed as well, unable to find sleep and unconsciously wondering the exact same thing:

Why had he to care about Ryan Evans?

How had the blond boy suddenly wormed his way into Chad's mind?

And what had happened, tonight at Gabriella's party or even before, over the summer that he could practically feel Ryan slowly worm his way into his heart as well?

And, most important: How could he stop this?

Did he even want to?

Or was it far too late already?

* * *

TBC

**I hope I did okay with the Sharpay POV part. Please tell me what you think.**


	9. Chapter 9

Okay, I know that some of you might not like this chapter or the direction this story is taking. It seems like a step backwards in the whole Chyan thing to me as well, but that's what's needed right now. More explanations (ramblings) at the bottom of this page.

* * *

Chapter Nine 

When Chad emerged from his room on Saturday morning he knew that the night had been far too short for his own liking; he'd barely gotten three hours of sleep. But at the same time it couldn't have ended quickly enough for him because…

Well, let's just say the amount of turning around sleepless he'd done that night was enough to make his muscles cramp and ache in all the wrong places. And his head felt twice as big as normal from all that thinking.

But, and that was the worst part, it had gotten him nowhere so far. Chad was still just as confused as he'd been yesterday over the course of Gabriella's party.

So while he prepared breakfast and took some juice out of the fridge (without sparing a glance at the stupid Michael Crawford who he just knew would be smirking at him from his mom's diet food) Chad tried once more to summarize his problem in one simple thought.

Ryan Evans, Drama King and secret baseball crack (whom he still hadn't gotten onto the team, Chad suddenly remembered his original plan)… that one Ryan Evans had somehow become a lurking constant on Chad's mind.

Okay, Ryan had become a guy he hung out with in school, too. And he had become a friend, he'd said so himself last night… but all that didn't explain why thoughts of the blond boy wouldn't leave his mind for hours.

Because… Troy was his friend, too, his best friend since ever; and he didn't lurk around Chad's brain constantly.

So why was the thing with Ryan different?

Chad sat at the kitchen table, sipping his orange juice, and wracking his brain for an answer to that.

But it wouldn't come up with anything.

Well, at least nothing acceptable for Chad.

Yeah, right… and denial was a river in Egypt, wasn't it?

* * *

While Chad spent his weekend happily ignoring the meaning of everything his mind threw at him he kept himself busy trying to come up with a plan how to convince Ryan to eventually join the baseball team. Because… well, if thoughts of the blond were constantly creeping around his mind no matter what, then Chad could just as well use those thoughts creatively, right? 

Okay, so while Chad was keeping himself busy Ryan didn't have any chance escaping to denial-land over the weekend.

Sharpay's constant pestering to talk about the nightmare forced him to face what he knew already anyway.

He liked Chad, period!

Over the course of the last few weeks, or ever since their summer at Lava Springs really, Ryan had come to like the jock. And not just as a friend. He knew he wanted more.

But, and that was the hard part, it would never happen, would it?

Chad was straight.

And even if he miraculously wasn't, someone like Chad would never let himself fall for a guy wretched like him. Someone eaten up by stupid nightmares and internal scars (the ones outside might even be considered sexy).

It wouldn't happen and he had to deal with it.

And it wouldn't change anything if he'd tell his sister about all this. Even Sharpay, for whom the word 'impossible' simply didn't exist in vocabulary, even the overall feared Drama Queen wouldn't be able to change the fact that it would never happen.

So why bother?

Ryan was an Evans after all.

And as an Evans he'd long ago learned to only play the games you knew you could win. Everything else shouldn't even make it onto his radar.

Well, but somehow Chad had and now Ryan simply needed to get him off again (off the radar!).

Ryan knew of course that it wouldn't be easy, now that he and Chad were friends. He couldn't simply go and ignore the jock from now on in school.

And he realized that he didn't want to. He still wanted to be friends with Chad and the other Wildcats, he wanted to stay inside 'the inner circle' (that's what Gabriella had called them, right?).

He just needed to find a way to stop thinking of Chad as more than a friend. Chad the potential boyfriend didn't exist.

Ryan was determined to get that into his head, and Chad out of it. He wouldn't even let Chad enter his dreams anymore, not the nightmares and certainly not the other, more pleasant dreams he'd had about the jock.

He simply wouldn't!

* * *

On Sunday evening Sharpay was finally coming to the conclusion that her brother really had changed over the summer. 

He'd grown somehow.

Because no matter how she'd tried to sweet-talk details about the nightmare out of him, he simply hadn't budged.

She'd tried to be gentle, insightful even (not an easy task but she was an actor after all) and when that hadn't worked she'd changed tactics and had gone into true Sharpay-mode. But not even the threatening ice-princess had been able to coax anything out of him.

Ryan had shrugged it all off with a simple "Don't bother, Shar. Just forget about it!"

But that was easier said than done.

Sharpay didn't exactly know why but seeing her twin spill his guts out because of a stupid nightmare had bothered her more than she'd ever let on.

The Drama Queen remembered all too clearly the countless nights years ago when those nightmares had come quite frequently. It wasn't something Sharpay needed to ever witness again: the slow but gradual destruction of Ryan's persona.

No way was she ever gonna let it get that far again, she was Sharpay Evans after all. She was the declared Queen of Scheming and she would come up with something to nip this upcoming disaster in the bud.

What had made those damn inconvenient dreams go away again those years ago?

A vivid image of Ryan pushed up against the tool shed with Miguel all over him came to her mind instantly and Sharpay's face changed into a knowing smirk.

Starting tomorrow in school she would find something to make everything right again.

Or, well… someone.

Sharpay grinned and turned around in bed, knowing that even if tonight she would be woken by another one of Ryan's nightmares… come tomorrow she would have the solution.

* * *

Sharpay had spent her entire Monday morning classes outlining the little scheme in her head. Ryan needed a distraction, a happy distraction from his nightmares and all she had to come up with was someone who would be willing to… ahem, distract him. There had to be someone suitable in school, some gay guy secretly crushing on her brother, right? 

Ryan wasn't unattractive at all; how could he be with her as a twin? They shared most genes after all. He was good-looking, fashionable (with a little help from her), rich… and he even was funny sometimes…

So… all in all Ryan Evans was a good catch.

And Sharpay was sure that there were dozens of students who thought so as well. She simply had to find one and convince him that he actually had a shot.

That's why the Drama Queen started to take a closer look on her group of followers during lunch break; trying to separate, possibly for the first time in her life, the ones that were fawning over her from the ones that seemed to be subtly paying more attention to Ryan.

And by the end of lunch-time Sharpay had singled-out the perfect candidate.

What was his name again?

Oh, well… she didn't bother as long as he would do the job.

Sharpay had to admit that the boy didn't seem to be the brightest but he was clearly gay (one single look at his clothes was enough). He seemed to hang onto Ryan's every word, which was a good enough confession for her.

And although Sharpay remembered him to be a truly terrible singer (or no singer at all) and Sharpay wondered why Ms. Darbus had let him join the Drama club in the first place, she also remembered his stubborn determination when he'd auditioned for the last winter musical. He hadn't been able to memorize the simplest lyrics then but had read them off his hand and even that he'd done wrong…

But Sharpay couldn't help but think that the boy had gone through all of this only to get her brother's attention.

Well, not the very best plan, Sharpay had to admit it. Humiliating yourself and being noticed only because of your lack of talent, being made the laughing stock of the auditions…

… well, but he HAD been noticed after all.

'Alan, that's his name!' Sharpay remembered all of a sudden.

Well, if the boy had made it so far onto the Drama Queen's radar that she even remembered his name then he was clearly good enough to be the one to get Ryan distracted enough for the stupid nightmares to vanish, right?

"Right," Sharpay said to herself and stood up to leave the cafeteria. She noticed that Alan was the last one to follow and smiled inwardly at how easy this all turned out to be.

Without a word she motioned for Ryan and the others to walk on without her and then she suddenly grabbed Alan by the collar and pulled him into a deserted part of the halls.

"Alan," she said sweetly and smiled when she noticed the boy nearly fainted at hearing his name coming from the Drama Queen's lips, "you will do me a small favor, won't you?"

"Ugh, I… surely!" Alan managed to stutter and listened breathlessly while Sharpay gave her instructions.

* * *

TBC 

Okay, explanation time: After the party and the karaoke and how the boys reacted to each other I feared that if I went on in that pace the story would be over soon. And I didn't want that because of all the things I didn't get to write yet. Many of you asked if Ryan would play baseball eventually and that's why I had to get Chad back on track trying to get Ryan onto the team. And as for his denial: well, Chad's in denial because I just don't know how to write his feelings. And I also think that he's simply the type for denial.

As for Ryan: Reading over the party scene again I noticed that I made him too vulnerable and soft for my own liking. I mean, he's Sharpay's twin after all and in HSM2 he showed that he's a strong character and he's able to come up with plans and schemes for himself… so I needed him to be a bit more… determined and Evans-like I guess.

And Sharpay: I've really come to like writing her and she's just the right one to cook up a plan that will lead this fic to less mushiness and more fun and hotness. And if you don't like the way this is going I'm sorry but… I promise the part with this other guy Alan (I somehow liked him in HSM1) won't take too much space in this fic, this is Chyan after all. But I can't promise you there won't be some Ryan/Alan in the next part because… well, that's what's in my head right now. Sorry.

Your opinion…?


	10. Chapter 10

Okay guys, I need help: I don't know if this should still be T-rated or if I should up it to M. I cut out most graphic details but there's definitely more than just kissing going on here… and, well, I'm not sure what to do. So please read and tell me, okay? Thanks. And if anyone's interested in the detailed version then you can find it in my LifeJournal.

Oh, and completely beside the point: Have you heard already that Lucas just signed up for HSM3? Jippie!

* * *

Chapter Ten 

Sharpay didn't have to wait too long for her scheme (or, well… Alan) to come into action. Two days after she'd talked the shy Drama Club student into making a move on Ryan he'd obviously worked up enough courage to finally try his luck.

'Well, at last,' Sharpay could only think.

The last two nights had once again been disturbed by Ryan screaming and waking up in cold sweat and… well she'd really had enough. The sooner her brother would be happily distracted by… you know, getting some, the sooner she would be able to sleep peacefully (oh, and Ryan, too of course).

The twins were putting away some schoolbooks in their lockers and were just about to walk to lunch when Sharpay noticed Alan coming their way down the hall. He met her eyes cautiously and when she sent back an encouraging and only slightly impatient glare the tall boy eventually approached her brother and mumbled:

"Ugh… Ryan?"

"Yeah?" he turned around and looked surprised at the fellow Drama student.

"Can I …like, talk to you for a minute?" Alan didn't dare to meet Ryan's eyes but looked at his feet nervously.

Sharpay sighed inwardly. How would the stupid boy want to achieve anything if he didn't even dare to look at Ryan? Had she maybe placed her hopes on the wrong boy? Maybe she really should have chosen that small dark-haired kid instead, the one who always dropped his books whenever Ryan happened to look his way. He would have been Ryan's type far more anyway, with dark hair and chocolate brown eyes… he'd perfectly resembled the Latin-lover-type Miguel the gardener's son had been.

This Alan-type was not it at all! He was blond, with blue eyes (her brother had blue eyes himself, so why would he want another pair) and he was also far too tall.

Sharpay shot another look at Alan towering over her brother (nearly one head, and that although he seemed to stand slumped already) and regretted instantly having chosen him.

But it seemed too late for that now because…

Right after Ryan had nodded for Alan to continue what he wanted to say Sharpay could only watch stunned when the shy Drama student grabbed her brother's wrist and pulled him away, mumbling something like "Well, not here, come with me!" along the way.

She simply shrugged when she caught Ryan's confused frown right before he was pulled around a corner. Finally out of sight, a small smirk made it onto Sharpay's face before she went for the cafeteria to get lunch.

* * *

Ryan let himself be dragged away by the taller boy, Alan if he remembered correctly, wondering along the way what it was he needed to tell him. And why couldn't he say it in the halls (or in front of Sharpay)? 

Finally Alan seemed to have reached his destination because Ryan watched him wordlessly open a door to his right leading them into…

Huh?

Why did Alan have to pull him into the restrooms for a talk?

Ryan quickly found out though for as soon as the door closed behind him surprisingly strong hands pushed him against the tiled walls of the first stall. And before he could utter a stunned "Ugh…" there was suddenly a mouth covering his and teeth nibbled at his bottom lip. Ryan let out a stunned gasp and as if it had been the cue a hot wet tongue was suddenly inside his mouth, probing and stroking and… oh wow, stimulating all the right places.

After the first initial shock Ryan tried to get his mind to work, he really did!

He knew he was supposed to push the other boy away but…ngh, oh… boy, where did the kid learn to do that?

Ryan's hands came up to the taller boy's shoulders, to push him away his brain screamed, but Ryan's body seemed to suddenly have a mind of its own and before he knew it his fists were clutching the stiff collar of Alan's shirt and he was kissing back.

And then Ryan felt strong hands roaming down his sides and pulling at his own shirt and he knew he should really stop this now but…

* * *

Well, he didn't. 

Details cut out because of the rating

* * *

It hit Ryan like a tidal wave and while he clung to the tall boy pressed up to him to keep himself from falling he saw Chad's face before his closed eyes and couldn't help but think he'd already fallen no matter what. 

And then Ryan's brain finally kicked in and he realized that it wasn't Chad who was now slowly pulling away from him to straighten his clothes.

It wasn't Chad, it was…

OH GOD!

"Ugh, Alan?" Ryan felt a deep blush rushing over his face but… no matter how embarrassing this was, he had to say something.

"Ugh, well… that was… I mean…" Ryan broke off trying to catch his breath.

"You're welcome," Alan mumbled and, not looking at him, took two steps over to the sink to wash his hands.

"Ahem… thanks," Ryan watched him and blushed even further when he realized where these hands had been moments before.

Oh God, what had he done? And what had he let this kid do? Ryan barely knew him and he certainly didn't like him that way.

And Ryan hadn't even known that the other boy was gay. He must have some kind of crush on him, or…

He simply had to ask: "Ugh, why…?"

Alan threw a look into the mirror above the sink and met his eyes shyly.

"I… I've wanted to do this for a long time and… well Sharpay said…"

"Sharpay?" Ryan exclaimed, "What's my sister got to do with this?"

"Ugh," now it was Alan's turn to blush furiously, "well, she… she told me…"

"She told you?" Ryan couldn't believe his ears. "She told you to drag me into the men's room and… and jump me?"

"Well, no… the restroom was my idea, but…" Alan shut his mouth at the sight of Ryan's eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

The Drama King's face was beet red and his jugular stood out at his neck as if to burst any moment. Alan had never seen the other boy this furious, not even on stage when he'd been playing a character.

Ryan's voice was strung tightly when he asked: "Do I get this right? My own sister set this whole thing up?"

"Ugh, it's not… I mean," Alan stuttered, "Ryan, I didn't mind…"

"Oh!" Ryan shouted and jerked his hat from his head to stroke through his sweat-damp hair. "You didn't mind! Now that's just… great!"

Alan didn't know what to say and simply watched Ryan set his hat back on in that jaunty angle and then hurry to fasten his jeans.

"Ugh, Ryan," Alan tried to stop the furious blond from leaving but Ryan had already opened the door and simply shouted back:

"Really, just great!"

And then Ryan ran out of the restroom and down the halls.

He had a sister to kill after all!

* * *

Chad hadn't talked to Ryan a lot since Gabriella's party. 

He hadn't been avoiding the blond, no… they'd seen each other on Tuesday when the whole gang had met for lunch. But… they'd been sitting apart from each other and Chad had mostly talked to Troy and Taylor and somehow he'd not dared to look at Ryan that often for he feared someone might notice his strange behavior. So he'd kept the conversation to a minimum.

And Ryan hadn't seemed to mind that much for he'd been occupied with sniping at his sister mostly. Though Chad didn't know what the twins had been secretly arguing about.

All he knew was that he and Ryan hadn't talked that much for a few days and his secret plan to win Ryan over for the baseball team hadn't progressed the slightest bit.

That's why Chad had decided that today he would finally start to make a move on Ryan.

Wait… had he really just thought that?

He'd meant he would get moving… with his plan, that it.

Chad had wanted to catch Ryan at lunch-time and talk to him. Usually he sat either with the Wildcats or with some Drama Club freaks, and always with his sister. So Chad had waited for the twins to show up together and then, when Sharpay had entered the cafeteria alone, he'd been so thrown that he'd walked over to Sharpay and ask her where Ryan was.

He'd received first a frown and then a curt "He's busy!" along with a dismissive hand-wave from the girl and so he'd eaten his lunch with one eye always at the stairs to see if Ryan would turn up eventually.

What could he be busy with over lunch anyway?

When Chad had only five minutes left till next class he decided to postpone his talk with Ryan and go to his locker to retrieve his things. He hadn't noticed that Sharpay was walking just a few steps behind, being also on her way to the pink sparkling locker that held her things.

Chad only noticed the ice-princess the moment a loud and angry voice suddenly shouted from behind:

"SHAR-PAAAYY!"

He turned around, curious as to who would dare to shout at the Drama Queen so boldly. That person had to be completely insane or…

…Ryan.

The blond boy came running down the hall and caught up with his sister a few feet away from Chad; stepping directly up to her and growling right in her face:

"What the fuck was that, Shar?"

Like everyone else in the halls Chad stared at the blond boy open-mouthed, too stunned to actually comprehend the words of the following shouting match between the twins.

Had Ryan actually just cursed at his sister? And was now growling and shouting? And… and… Chad couldn't believe it, he'd never in his life seen Ryan actually furious with anyone, and with Sharpay involved it had always been pretty much the other way round.

He watched both twins flabbergasted and then suddenly the argument in reversed roles was not what kept Chad's eyes glued to the twins anymore. In fact Sharpay being there vanished into the very back of his mind and all Chad registered now was Ryan.

He looked…

…well, completely fucked was all Chad could come up with; and not in the "looks-like-you-had-a-bad-day" kind of way.

No, Chad was thinking fucked, literally.

Though he didn't exactly know how a person would look like after… that. Because… well, lack of experience and all that.

But, Chad was sure, if he'd ever come across a person who'd had sex moments before, that person would look exactly like Ryan looked now.

Pretty much fucked.

Flushed, disheveled, sweaty, out-of-breath… other words came slowly to Chad's mind as he stared on, but the strongest impression was simply… fucked.

Ryan's outfit, normally neat and perfect, was crumpled and the shirt looked like it had been tugged hastily back into his pants. His belt was… wrong somehow, the buckle was shoved to the right, as if it had been fastened equally hasty.

His black hat was the only thing that sat at the typical jaunty angle but… the hair underneath seemed tousled and sweaty.

Ryan's usually pale face was flushed and his lips… his lips were red and pout-y. Like thoroughly-kissed-pout-y!

A whole lot of thoughts rushed through Chad's mind at the sight; they went from "Holy fuck, he's gorgeous!" over "Who did that to him?" and ended in "Can I have him now, please?".

And when Chad had caught up on the last one he blushed furiously and felt his body temperature rise (and with that certain body parts).

Feeling his pants tighten painfully Chad gasped and did the only thing logical in this situation.

He turned around and ran.

* * *

Chad neither knew nor cared how he'd ended up in the gym eventually but that's where he was right now. 

He was shooting hoops and dribbling from one end of the gym to the other, sweating and panting but unable to stop as long as the image of a disheveled Ryan Evans with pout-y lips wouldn't leave before his eyes.

And Chad hadn't been able to make that image go away for more than ten minutes now; no matter with what he'd tried to distract himself, closing his eyes Chad simply saw Ryan, a gorgeous, tempting, simply eatable Ryan.

So Chad had gone over to shooting hoops as a last resort for distraction; it had always worked before when something had been troubling him big time.

Shooting lonely hoops in the deserted gym meant powering himself out to near-death.

Chad longed, simply needed to do this because… right now he was clinging to the last straw of hope that he would eventually be too tired to think or feel anything.

But twenty minutes later, long before that blissful state of mind had overtaken him, Chad suddenly noticed someone standing in one corner of the gym.

And it was the last person he needed to see right now.

Ryan.

* * *

TBC 

**I'm sorry for having to end with a big cliffhanger again, but this was the best place to stop because what comes next, finally some Chyan interaction, will probably take ten pages alone.**

**The next Chapter will be up in a few days, keep looking out. Oh, and also: keep reviewing so nicely, I'm really overwhelmed by the attention this story is getting. I can't believe you guys nearly made it to the 77****th**** review. Whoever will write it, you will get a nice gift from me. So, keep it coming…**


	11. Chapter 11

Here's what you've all been waiting for: finally a bit of cute and fluffy Chyan. But not too much…it's also a bit angsty and… well, it may seem like we're finally getting closer to 'happily ever after' but… we're not. I put some lyrics in here as well, I think you'll know the song. It just fit perfectly and I had to use it.

* * *

Chapter Eleven

_What the fuck was that, Shar?_

Bits and pieces of the fight with his twin had flashed through Ryan's mind when he'd dragged his feet out of the halls of East High; out and away from everything. He didn't care where he was going, he'd just needed to get away, away and out of Sharpay's lying face. She'd actually had the nerve to look hurt by what he'd thrown at her!

_Did you pay him? Are you my pimp now?_

He'd ignored the gasps from all the students around just like he'd ignored Sharpay's feeble attempts to give back a word of protest. He'd continued in a frenzy:

_How did you do it, hm? Put a flashing note on the blackboard saying: My queer brother needs to get laid, who's volunteering?_

The following look of stunned incredulity on her face had been too much then and Ryan had turned away disgusted and had simply walked out.

The surrounding students had formed a natural lane for him and he'd walked through with his head held high, not caring about their whispered comments or shocked stares.

He'd set one foot in front of the other, out of the halls and through doors and corridors he couldn't remember ever entering before.

On and on he'd walked in trance, not seeing or hearing anything.

Nothing but his sister's hurt eyes and… that kid's, Alan's, face when he'd said:

"_Sharpay told me… I didn't mind…"_

* * *

Mechanically Ryan opened a door that had appeared in his way and entered a large and sparsely lightened room. The stands at his side were left in dim light and only the center of the room was bathed in a single spotlight.

Ryan was unaware of standing in the gym's entrance as well as to someone dribbling to and fro with a ball; all conscious thoughts were still on Sharpay and Alan and all that had happened earlier.

But now Ryan started to feel that the earlier power-rush had really drained his body and the fury and anger slowly faded away to make room for a bone-deep weariness settling into his heart.

Exhaustion, sadness and fatigue took over and Ryan felt the blood rushing in his ears, his sight suddenly blurred and he knew his knees would give out under him soon.

But then there was abruptly someone standing in front of him, glaring and...

Chad had come running up to Ryan; furious at the intrusion per se but mostly simply furious at Ryan.

He jumped right into the very exhausted looking blonde's face and screamed:

"What do you want? Get out, Ryan! Get the hell out of my face!"

And he pushed the other boy's chest so hard that Ryan stumbled backwards and slammed against the door. Chad followed two steps an panted desperately:

"Leave me alone, Evans! Why won't you leave me alone? Get out of my mind! Please, get out of my…"

Ryan stared at the boy in front of him… was that Chad? He couldn't be sure because everything seemed so hazy… but bouncy dark curls usually meant Chad.

It was Chad… who was screaming something…

"Please, get out…"

… but Ryan couldn't hear the words; he realized Chad's lips were moving but the blood rushing in his ears drowned out every other sound. He tried to concentrate on Chad's blurry face, it was swimming and dancing before his eyes and…

And then everything went black and Ryan slumped to the ground unconscious.

* * *

Chad watched the blond boy sink lifeless to the ground and instantly all frustration washed away to leave pure shock behind. He crouched down and cried:

"Ryan! Ryan, god… what's wrong? Ryan?"

Nothing.

Chad felt panic rising up inside his stomach but he choked it down and screwed his eyes shut for a brief moment to get his thoughts together.

What had Mrs. Brody tried to teach them in health class when first aid had been the subject? An unconscious person… lie'em down, feet propped up in the air… something put under the head…

Chad pulled Ryan's unresponsive body away from the wall and stretched it out on the cold floor. Then he looked around frantically for something to put under Ryan's feet and Chad's eyes fell onto his basketball. He jumped up, ran over to it and returned only seconds later to his still out-cold friend.

Outbalancing Ryan's legs to stay put on the damn ball proved to be more than difficult and Chad cursed angrily.

But eventually the ball stopped rolling away and was placed securely under Ryan's knees.

Chad slid up to where the unresponsive head lay on the hard floor and without a second thought he lifted it and gently pulled it onto his knees and in his lap.

He ran badly shaking hands through Ryan's soft blond strands and whispered:

"Come on, Ry… wake up! Please wake up."

Gently caressing Ryan's face Chad noticed that the cheeks and neck felt cold and clammy but he also realized a sudden fluttering behind Ryan's closed eyelids.

"Ryan?" Chad asked anxiously, "Ryan, can you hear me?"

A low moan reached Chad's ears and then the head in his lap turned slightly and disorientated blue eyes met his frightened brown ones.

"Ugh… Chad?"

"Shht, Ryan, relax. I got you," Chad shushed the other boy, "Everything's alright now… I got you!"

Ryan relaxed and closed his eyes again for a second to get his thoughts back together. What had happened? Why was he lying down? And where?

And why was Chad holding him and caressing his cheek… mhm, that felt really nice…

Ryan sighed and leaned into the soft touch. Chad's hands were warm and kept stroking the hair from his forehead and then fingers ran down to the nape of his neck and made the short hair there stand on end.

Ryan looked up again into Chad's anxious but also relieved face and a small smile formed at the corner of his mouth.

* * *

_And through all the ups and downs_

_I'll always be around_

_You know when nothing goes your way_

_When nothing goes your way_

_You know I will_

* * *

This felt so right!

Lying here in Chad's arms… this was what he'd needed all along. Chad was, and not… not…

Oh God!

Suddenly everything came rushing back to Ryan's mind.

What he'd done in the restroom earlier with Alan… and then the fight with Sharpay… shouting at her… had he really said all those terrible things?

And the whole school had been there to see and hear it!

Ryan let out a shocked gasp. This was worse than all his nightmares together!

Panic took over and Ryan could feel tears starting to prickle in his eyes. He closed them quickly… he wouldn't cry in front of Chad, not again!

Chad felt the body in his arms starting to tremble all of a sudden and he gripped Ryan's shoulders and asked frightened:

"Ryan, what's wrong? Ry… please, what…"

The blond boy couldn't stop a sob from coming out. He tried to wriggle out of Chad's lap, he had to get away now, before…

Strong hands came around his torso and pulled him into a half-sitting position and Ryan tried to back away but Chad's arms wouldn't budge and…

* * *

_And if you slip and fall off track_

_I'll carry you on my back_

_You know when nothing goes your way_

_When nothing goes your way_

_You know I will_

* * *

… and then Chad's voice whispered soothing words of nonsense directly into his ear and hair and…

…and Ryan couldn't fight it anymore. His arms came up and wrapped around Chad's body and he clung to him desperately choking and sobbing:

"Oh God, Chad! What did I do?"

"Shht, Ry, it's okay…" Chad pulled the other's face even tighter against his own and tried to calm him; shushing over and over into his ear and nuzzling the pale cheek and neck.

Chad didn't know what had gotten Ryan this upset but… right now he didn't need to. All he wanted was to hold Ryan and offer all the comfort he could give.

And somehow it seemed to work because after a few minutes (or a few hours, Chad didn't know) Ryan gradually stopped trembling and the sobs wrecking his body became softer and softer till eventually the two boys clung together in silence, hugging each other tightly.

* * *

_And through all the ups and downs_

_I'll always be around_

_You know when nothing goes your way_

_When nothing goes your way_

_You know I will_

_I'll stand between you and your darkest fear_

_You know I will_

_I'll be the shoulder for your fallin' tear_

_You know I will_

_I'll be behind you till you're in the clear_

* * *

Time seemed to have stopped for the two boys clinging to each other on the gym's floor. Ryan had buried his face in the crook of Chad's neck and he softly breathed in his scent. Chad smelled of soap and sweat mixed with something that was undoubtedly Chad; he smelled warm and soft and comforting somehow and inevitably Ryan had to think about sitting by a window at home when it was raining outside, huddled in a soft blanket, a mug of hot chocolate in one hand and his mother holding the other in hers on her lap while she was telling sweet nothings…

… and that's exactly how Chad made him feel now.

Comfortable and… simply at home.

But underneath that wonderful comfy feeling Ryan also noticed that those body parts that weren't in direct contact with Chad, his feet and legs and his butt, were starting to get cold. Eventually they had to move off the ground but Ryan didn't want to.

In fact he didn't dare to move a single muscle, afraid that the smallest change in position might scare Chad into ending this… whatever this was.

But just like you don't dare to laugh at a funeral and then, thinking about it, you simply can't not do it… just like that Ryan felt his feet twitching slightly and his arms starting to cramp.

He had to loosen his grip on Chad's shoulders and soon enough he heard Chad sigh and whisper:

"Ryan?"

"I know, we need to get up." the blonde quickly answered and started to pull out of the embrace. But Chad's grip on him only tightened and he replied:

"That's not what I meant. Though now that you mention it," Chad turned his face to send Ryan a sheepish smile, "I think my butt is freezing. And my legs fell asleep hours ago."

"You should have said something," Ryan murmured, "then I would have…"

Chad turned his head away again when he whispered:

"I didn't want you to move. This…," he squeezed Ryan's arm briefly, "this felt…"

"Right," Ryan finished for him and Chad nodded in response.

"Yeah," he sighed and for the first time in days he wasn't too scared to admit to himself that he'd come to LIKE Ryan.

But that thought didn't outweigh the fear for too long because the next second Chad acted all denial-ish and evasive again when he complained:

"Seriously Ryan, I need to stretch my legs now or…"

"Okay," Ryan nodded and tried not to feel too cold and empty when Chad's arms around him vanished and the dark-skinned boy slowly crawled to his feet.

Chad had to shake some feeling back into his legs first but after the tingling had stopped he turned towards Ryan who was still sitting on the ground.

"You think you can stand?" he asked.

"Huh?" Ryan frowned, "Why shouldn't I?"

"Dude, you fainted earlier, remember?"

"Oh," Ryan replied, "right."

He started to get up on shaky feet and Chad's hand shot out immediately to steady his arm. Ryan looked down at the hand holding him upright and then into Chad's face and wondered briefly what would happen if he were to kiss the other boy now.

He licked his lips unconsciously and started to lean forward but Chad's next words brought Ryan back to his senses before anything could happen.

"So, you wanna tell me what happened?" Chad asked.

Ryan quickly recoiled and turned away, picking his discarded hat from the ground in the process. Then he slumped down onto the lowest row of the stands and muttered:

"Chad, I…"

"I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to but…" Chad sat down next to his friend and watched him turn his hat between pale hands, "you know, if you want to talk about what got you so upset…"

"I wasn't upset!" Ryan quickly stated.

"No? I guess Sharpay won't agree after all that screaming in her face and all," Chad gave back.

"You saw?" Ryan's eyes grew wide, "You were there, too?"

"Ugh," Chad fidgeted, suddenly uncomfortable, "well, kind of."

"If you already know what happened, why do you want me to…"

"I don't know what happened, dude!" Chad quickly relented, "I saw you screaming at her but… well, I didn't get a word of it."

"Huh?" Ryan frowned. How was it possible to have witnessed the scene he'd made and not… I mean, he'd been pretty clear with his accusations, hadn't he?

Chad looked down at his trainers. He seemed to be slightly embarrassed when he stuttered:

"I was, well… a little distracted."

"I guess I won't be so lucky with the rest of the school. I'm sure you can get the sordid little details of my pathetic sex life from the gossip that's bound to go around by now!" Ryan's voice was harsh and mocking.

"Your sex… huh?" Chad squealed out and stared at Ryan who was getting more and more worked up over… whatever it had been that had set him off. Chad wasn't sure now that he even wanted to hear more but Ryan went on already:

"Maybe my devilish sister will let you have a look at her drawn-out battle plan; she's known for outlining all her little schemes in detail, complete with sketches."

Chad had grown quite confused over Ryan's ramblings and so he tried to calm down the other boy by saying the first thing on his mind:

"Dude, I'm not interested in whatever the ice-princess cooked up now and… and I'm even less interested in your sex life," he blushed at that and didn't dare to look directly at Ryan, "I just want to know what's wrong."

Chad didn't notice the flicker of hurt cross Ryan's face at his words but he recognized the defeat when the boy said:

"You wanna know what's wrong?" Ryan sighed and stood up from the bench, ready to leave Chad and this whole fucking day behind, "you just said it, Chad. You're not interested!"

Ryan turned around and walked towards the door, his shoulders slumped and his eyes fixed on the hat still in his hand.

* * *

Chad watched Ryan leave through the door to the locker rooms, frozen in shocked comprehension. Had he really just heard what he think he did?

Had Ryan meant that Chad wasn't interested in him and… had he felt sorry for it?

Did that mean that… Ryan was interested… in him?

Chad felt his skin start to prickle and his stomach suddenly did some kind of weird flip-flops. Not being able to sit still any longer he jumped up from his seat and started pacing back and forth.

'Now that's some news I really need to wrap my mind around!' Chad thought and ran over to his discarded basketball.

He needed to shoot some hoops again now; and he wouldn't stop before he'd set his mind straight on what he really wanted.

'Okay, bad choice of words, dude!' Chad scolded his brain and started dribbling, 'Not so much with the straightness anymore I guess!'

* * *

**TBC**

**Okay, I'm not really satisfied with the ending here but right now I just couldn't think of anything else. The first version had this Chapter ending in a kiss but that was too fluffy even for me.**

**I'm really at a loss for how this is going to continue. I know what else I want to put in here but I don't know how to get there. Help, please? I'm open for all kinds of suggestions.**

**Oh, and congratulations to my sister Chris, she wrote the 77****th**** review and gets a gift. The next incentive I'm offering is for the 100****th**** review. Come on guys, you know you want to :-)**

**By the way, the song was of course "You know I will" performed by Lucas Grabeel.**


	12. Chapter 12

Hey there, I'm back with a new chapter. You know, I wasn't too happy with the last few parts (though obviously a lot of you liked what went on since the karaoke party). But now I feel like I've found my former writing style again and the story is finally back on track. I really like this chapter and I hope you will, too.

My sister Chris is partly responsible for what's happening here because she requested Sharpay's appearance and she also wanted to see Alan again. And this is what she gets (and you, too): Twin talkage, Alan coming on to Ryan again and Chad getting jealous.

* * *

Chapter Twelve

Ryan had planned to walk directly up to his room once he'd arrived home. This day had possibly been the worst school day ever, well… maybe apart from the day he'd learned about the call-back's for "Twinkle Towne" last year and he'd had to endure Sharpay's yammering all day long… actually, no! Today had been worse.

All that emotional stress… the thing with Alan, then his fight with Sharpay and on top of all his whatever-it–had-been-with-Chad-in-the-gym… well, the emotional roller coaster he'd been on as well as the physical strain (fainting did take a lot out of you, Ryan had noticed) had left the blond boy quite drained and in a horribly depressing mood.

Last but not least he'd realized after leaving the gym that he would have to walk home… WALK; he, Ryan Evans, had to walk six miles home in the hot afternoon sun!

Ryan had thought briefly about calling one of the Evans' chauffeurs to pick him up from school (for a ride home with Sharpay wasn't likely to happen after today, was it?). But then he'd decided that he didn't want to worry his mom and if he did call for a pick up she would know and would worry… so walking home had been the best option.

But now, when he'd finally reached the Evans' mansion with his shirt clinging sweaty to his back and on the verge of passing out again, Ryan scolded himself for being so stupid.

So he'd wanted nothing but to go straight up to his room and pass out on his bed; not waking up till… possibly graduation day… but the sight of the large staircase in front of him was too frightening and so Ryan made a slight turn to the left and flopped down onto the first cushioned furniture available.

And that's why he woke up some time later on the couch in the living room to someone shaking his shoulder not so gently and screaming in his face.

"Ryan, wake up damn it!"

Ryan reluctantly opened his eyes to see Sharpay standing bend over with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Okay," the Drama Queen demanded in full Sharpay-mode, "talk!" And plopping down in the leather armchair next to the couch she added: "And if you call me a pimp again you know I will scratch your eyes out!"

"What do you want me to say, Shar?" Ryan grumbled and propped his head up on one elbow. He was still furious at her but right now the curiosity of what his sister had actually wanted to achieve with her stupid prank outweighed his anger. "I'd rather think you owe me an explanation for setting that Alan-kid on me!"

"Hey, I didn't set him on you!" Sharpay quickly replied, "I just pointed out to him that he should perhaps think about eventually doing something about his crush on you. You make it sound like I ordered him to molest you or…"

She broke off when Ryan shot her a look that clearly said "Duh!"

"Oh no, he didn't, did he?" the blonde sighed in feigned annoyance but added to herself: "That kid's more upfront than I thought!"

"He did!" Ryan stated, "And you let him drag me away to jump me in the restrooms! Don't tell me you didn't count on that! Come on Shar, you forget who you're talking to."

Ryan sat up on the couch and faced his twin with a look only a true Evans could pull of.

"I've been involved in your little schemes for seventeen years now and just because I don't always like them or won't go along with them any longer you shouldn't forget that I'm very familiar with how your brain works. I know this is just what you'd planned all along. And I want to know why!"

Sharpay stared at her brother both annoyed and impressed at the same time and for the umpteenth time since Lava Springs she couldn't stop wondering how he'd managed to change from her poodle that unquestioningly did her bidding to a challenging force she had to reckon with.

So despite being a perfect actor she couldn't quite ban the bewilderment from her voice when she finally answered:

"You know Ryan, I just wanted to help you."

"Help me? With what, getting some?" Ryan scoffed and shook his head, "You know, I think I prefer working off steam simply by dancing. It's not like I'm not already familiar with that!"

And as an afterthought he added quietly: "Or my own hand for that matter."

Sharpay had caught the last part despite Ryan speaking mostly to himself and she said: "Well, looks like your hand is doing a pretty poor job lately or else you wouldn't have those stupid nightmares now, would you?"

Ryan looked at his sister in shocked embarrassment. Not only had she never before talked about anything involving hands… but now she'd brought the nightmares into this as well. Those damn nightmares that represented the strongest remaining link to his former apprehensive poodle-self.

He quickly tried to regain his self-composure and asked:

"What do you mean by that?"

"Ry," Sharpay switched to the affectionate name unconsciously, "you remember as well as I do that those dreams died down once you'd gotten over your fear of outing yourself. And they stopped when you started dating your sex-obsessed Latino-lover."

"Hey," Ryan interrupted huffily, "Miguel wasn't sex-obsessed, he was eighteen after all!"

"Yes, and you were only fourteen, Ryan!" Sharpay's voice clearly showed what she thought of that. Honestly she'd never really gotten over the fact that having sex was one thing (the only thing she hoped) her twin had ever beaten her to. He was the younger one after all (only twenty minutes, but still)!

"But," she quickly went on when Ryan was about to protest, "I'm not complaining because… well, it helped, didn't it? Getting it on with Miguel killed those damn nightmares!"

Ryan stared at her and tried to process what she was talking about.

"So… you're saying that… you set me up with Alan because you thought that having sex would make the dreams go away?"

Sharpay rolled her eyes and couldn't suppress a quick "Duh!" before she smiled sweetly and padded her brother's knee.

"Finally you're getting it!" Then she stood up and in swaying away she added: "You should know by now that I've only your welfare in mind!"

Ryan watched her go and shook his head in doubt. "Why do I have problems believing that?" he shouted after her.

"Have a little faith in me, Ry! You'll see, it will all work out!" he heard her shout back from the stairs and he couldn't help smiling at that.

How come he never managed to stay angry at her for too long?

No matter what Sharpay did, she always found a way back into his good graces. Well, she was his twin after all, and an Evans on top. That explained a lot.

* * *

The rumors about East High's strongest pair's fall-out (pair in the non-romantic but 'sticking-together-no-matter-what' kind of way) died once the Evans' twins showed up at school in perfect sync the next day.

They walked down the halls close to each other wearing matching outfits; Sharpay in a light brown skirt with cream-colored knee-length boots and a beige top and Ryan dressed in brown slacks, his cream-colored cardigan and a cream and chocolate-colored newsboy cap.

Heads held high in typical Evans' manner and smiling confidently Ryan and Sharpay were the very picture of unity and every student who walked past didn't dare to utter so much as a peep about what had happened between them the day before.

And, best of all, the harmony wasn't even an act. Just like Ryan had predicted he couldn't stay angry at his sister for too long. And Sharpay's grudge against what Ryan had called her in the heat of the moment had pretty much dissolved the second she'd woken up this morning, for once, well rested.

Ryan hadn't had a nightmare last night and Sharpay was convinced that her little scheme had fulfilled its purpose.

The Drama King of course knew better. Sure, he'd slept peacefully through the night, but relieving some sexual tension had nothing to do with it.

Or, well, it had, but not in the way Sharpay thought.

Ryan's sleep had been quiet and calm because he'd dreamed of being held by strong coffee-colored arms. Arms wrapped around his body holding him tight and making him feel like he got the strongest promise of comfort and love.

In his dreams Ryan had pulled Chad's body close and had buried his face in the thick brown curls. He'd pressed tender kisses against the soft skin of Chad's neck down to his collarbone. And still further down his mouth had wandered, over a bare chest and stomach to sensitive hipbones, gently nibbling them and smiling affectionately at making Chad squirm.

And in the morning Ryan had woken up in sticky boxers and with a satisfied dopey grin on his face and the wonderful sensation had quickly squashed the small lingering guilt he felt for having that kind of dream about Chad when he knew the feelings he had developed for the jock weren't mutual.

So after a quick check-in with Sharpay to clear the coast so to speak (and to match their clothes) Ryan had dressed in one of his favorite outfits and hadn't spent a thought on what would await the pair at school today.

Rumors would always go around about him, he'd long ago made his peace with that. And who knew, maybe today something totally outrageous would happen to somebody else; something that would make even better canon fodder for East High's rumor mills than Ryan Evans, gay Drama King, having been successfully hit on by another student (at his own sister's orders).

Stranger things had happened, right?

* * *

Well, Chad didn't think so.

During his free-period after lunch the rumors about what had been the cause of the Evans' twins' verbal fight finally reached the jock's ears through Troy and Zeke. They'd heard it from another basketball friend who again had heard it from his sister who again had been standing at the end of "THAT HALL" where "it" had taken place.

Chad left his friends on the basketball court with an excuse and walked away to the other side of the school yard to find a quiet corner for himself. He plopped down onto the grass, his back leaned against a thick tree trunk, and tried to wrap his mind around what Troy and Zeke had said. And really, Chad didn't know if he'd ever heard something more weird.

According to his friends Ryan had fought with his sister because "Ryan's boyfriend had broken up with the Drama King at lunch-break after confirming that, yes, he'd only had sex with Ryan because Sharpay had paid him and had threatened to blackmail him if he didn't".

There were so many things wrong with that sentence that Chad just didn't know where to begin with his doubts.

Okay, first of all: Ryan had had a boyfriend?? Huh? Since when?

The other boy had never said anything about having a boyfriend and neither had Chad ever seen Ryan with someone who would have fit that title. In fact, most times Ryan had been either alone or with Sharpay.

Okay, since beginning of this school year Ryan had been hanging out with Chad and some other Wildcats, but… well, Chad knew for sure that none of his basketball friends was THAT close to the Drama King.

And Chad wasn't said boyfriend either. If he were then there would be no reason for rumors because he would never have broken up with Ryan in the first place.

And… hadn't Ryan hinted only yesterday that he was interested in Chad? Or had he mistaken Ryan's parting words in the gym?

Chad clearly recalled what Ryan had said when he'd left _(You wanna know what's wrong?__You just said it yourself, Chad. You're not interested!') _Had he possibly read too much into that statement? But… there was nothing to take the wrong way, was there? Ryan wanted him and…

And why the hell was he thinking of himself as a probable candidate to be Ryan's boyfriend now? What was wrong with him, didn't he have other things to worry about?

Right, so… the next unbelievable thing of that ridiculous gossip was: if Ryan's boyfriend had broken up with him at lunch-break, it would mean that it had been an East High student.

NO WAY!! was Chad's only comment on that. There wasn't anyone eligible, period.

Ryan would have told him if there'd been something going on with another student, right?

Right… then the next thing was: Ryan had had sex? With… another person? Chad didn't want to think about that possibility too much but he remembered only too clearly how Ryan had looked yesterday.

Flushed and disheveled… like he'd just had sex. So that part of the rumor was most likely the truest.

Chad really didn't like that part and wanted nothing more than to move on quickly with his thoughts but at the same time he couldn't chase the picture from his mind once it was there. He imagined Ryan, naked… sweat glistening on his pale back and running down his well-formed thighs… panting and moving on top of… somebody… gahh… Chad felt his cheeks go aflame just thinking about it.

And hadn't Ryan said something about his sex life yesterday in the gym as well? So… Ryan probably really had a sex life, at least more so than Chad (for he was sure his own hand didn't count, did it?).

'But', Chad thought suddenly, 'if that part of the gossip is true, doesn't that mean everything else is, too?'

Chad tried to concentrate back on what he was doing, namely analyzing the rumor… why would Sharpay pay someone for having sex with her brother?

It's not that Chad couldn't picture the ice-princess doing so… in fact it wasn't hard to imagine Sharpay waving around a stack of Benjamin's.

But paying someone to have sex with her brother? What was it to her? Why would she care whether he was getting some or not? Was that one of those weird twin things that non-twins simply couldn't relate to?

Chad had heard of things like that but… not in any constellation had sex been involved!

And thinking about Sharpay and Ryan and sex in one sentence made Chad somewhat nauseous and the beginning arousal he'd felt when thinking about Ryan having sex was quickly deflated.

Thank God it was because the next moment someone flopped down onto the ground beside him and when Chad turned his head he looked straight into the clear blue eyes of none other than Ryan Evans.

* * *

"Hey Chad," the blonde boy greeted him cautiously, "how are you?"

"Ugh, hi…" Chad stuttered and looked Ryan up and down. He seemed to be quite chipper today, nothing like yesterday in the gym.

Chad was confused. Was it an act? He knew that Ryan was more than able to hide his true emotions behind a character he chose to play but…

Chad had thought they were friends and that Ryan wouldn't feel the need to play a role around him. Like yesterday… that had been true Ryan, hadn't it?

Chad suddenly noticed that Ryan had continued to talk and so he tried to zone in.

"You know," Ryan said now, "I just wanted to say Thank you for… well, being there I guess."

Chad stared at the other boy for a second before he blurted out:

"Ryan, did your boyfriend really break up with you?"

"WHAT?" Ryan yelped.

Chad went on quickly: "I know it's none of my business but…" he felt a blush coming on again and quickly looked away.

Ryan tried to regain the ability to talk. Why would Chad think that? Had it been one of the countless rumors going around? But… Chad knew that he didn't have a boyfriend, he had to know.

"Chad," Ryan tried to clarify but before he could go on there was suddenly someone clearing his throat beside him.

"Hh-ghuh… Ryan?"

The blond boy looked away from Chad and his eyes met a pair of loose corduroyed pants. Above it was an awfully brown and red striped shirt and then… Alan's face.

'Damn it!' Ryan thought.

"Ugh, Alan… I… what do you want?"

"I need to talk to you," the tall boy replied without a trace of his typical nervousness.

"Again? I don't think so!" Ryan shook his head and then threw a short glance at Chad beside him. The dark-skinned boy frowned from Alan to Ryan and back again quietly.

"Ryan, please," Alan begged, "about yesterday, you have to let me explain… it isn't like you think it is. I really like you and…"

"Okay, okay…" Ryan stopped the confession that was sure to come and stood up swiftly. He didn't want Chad to get the wrong impression and so he pulled Alan a few feet away with him.

* * *

Chad watched in stunned disbelief how Ryan pulled that other boy away by his sleeve, all the while talking animatedly. The jock wasn't able to hear the words spoken but…

He had eyes and could see just enough of what was going on. Now that Alan-guy was saying something and… he was touching Ryan's arm!

The Drama King didn't seem to notice at first for he didn't shake off the hand. 'Or', Chad thought suddenly, 'Ryan doesn't mind!'

So this was the one involved in yesterday's fuss? That… Drama freak? Chad's eyes narrowed while he gave him the once-over.

The pants… that shirt… the HAIR! God, Ryan could clearly do better, couldn't he? That boy looked ridiculous, like a true geek!

And he was far too tall, he towered over Ryan's head and made the Drama King look small and fragile in comparison. And that was not a look Chad liked to see.

In fact, the whole scene in front of him wasn't something Chad liked to see. His insides squirmed about and Chad suddenly felt like his lunch wanted to make a terrible reappearance at the sight of Ryan and that… that geek!

Talking confidentially, whispering closely and… and touching arms and…

And now Ryan was putting an arm onto the damn guy's shoulder and that… freak was throwing a look over to Chad! HE SMILED!

That was just too much, Chad couldn't stand the sight any longer.

He scrambled hastily up from his position on the ground and without another look at the 'PAIR' he stormed off.

* * *

"Yeah, well Alan, " Ryan said gently, "I'm sorry but that's just the way it is."

Alan looked down at his feet and then back up into Ryan's honest face. He briefly tried to be angry at the Drama King for rejecting him but… deep down he'd been expecting nothing else.

Alan maybe wasn't the brightest but he was clever enough to know that Ryan Evans, East High's most awed Drama student (at least for all the other males of the Drama Club) had been too far out of reach anyway.

Ryan was simply playing in a much higher league and… well, what Alan had gotten yesterday was far more than he'd ever dreamed of anyway.

He'd kissed that perfect mouth, he'd touched… places Alan was ashamed to name and… he was one of a very small group of people who knew what cute sounds the blond made when he came.

Alan would treasure that experience for the rest of his life!

And that's why he couldn't be mad at Ryan now for giving him the brush-off. When he felt Ryan's arm on his shoulder in a comforting gesture he even risked a small smile towards where Ryan's true feelings lay.

"You sure about him?" Alan asked and nodded towards Chad a few feet away, "I mean… he's a jock. Gorgeous, but still… a jock."

"I know," Ryan replied smiling, "but you can't help who you fall for, can you?"

"No," Alan sighed.

They shared an understanding smile and Ryan let go of Alan's shoulder eventually.

"So, we're clear?" he asked.

"Yeah," Alan replied and added, "and you can be sure I won't tell anyone about… him. Ugh," Alan looked around frowning, "where did he go?"

"Huh?" Ryan turned around to the tree Chad had been sitting under only moments before. He was gone.

"Shit," he gasped and his eyes wandered around frantically but there was no trace of Chad whatsoever.

"I need to go!" Ryan announced and quickly walked away to look for Chad.

"Good luck with that!" Alan shouted after him. He would need it after all, right?

* * *

TBC

**I hope you all like this chapter as much as I do.**

**And I need to inform you of a few of my thoughts. Well, this is probably the last we see of Alan for now. I liked playing with him but now I think it's time for our beloved boys to finally get on the right train.**

**Maybe what's coming next will look a bit rushed but… I have to tell you I'm slowly getting tired of letting Ryan and Chad dance around each other. I want them to get it on with and that's what's gonna happen. But just because they may finally reveal their true feelings to each other that doesn't mean that the story will be over. I have still so many ideas in my head but… I need them to be kind of together for that.**

**I hope you don't mind.**


	13. Chapter 13

I'm terribly sorry for letting you wait this long for the update. School started again and I though I don't have much to prepare for it yet my mind is a bit on overload.

I hope you still like.

* * *

Chapter Thirteen 

It was probably the first time ever that Ryan was sitting in class that afternoon and not getting a word of what Ms. Darbus talked about.

Well, okay, Ms. Darbus often droned on and on about things the blond boy didn't get and surely he'd been zoning out more than once during one of her speeches. But today he wasn't engrossed in one of his daydreams, looking out of the window, like he'd done so many times before.

Today Ryan nibbled at his bottom lip in worry and was constantly staring at the empty chair slightly in front of him. Chad's empty chair.

The jock hadn't shown up for class after he'd disappeared from the school yard and Ryan was wondering if he'd maybe gotten the wrong impression about Ryan's talk with Alan after all.

On the other hand… why would Chad even care if he wasn't interested in Ryan in that way?

And he wasn't, was he?

No matter how much he wished it to be otherwise and despite Chad's weird behavior at Gabriella's party Ryan was still convinced that Chad was straight and not the slightest bit interested in more than being friends with him.

Hadn't he said so yesterday in the gym?

'I'm even less interested in your sex life…' 

Those had been Chad's words, right?

Ryan was getting more and more confused the longer he kept staring at Chad's empty seat. And Ryan didn't like being confused.

Confusion was the cause of all his nightmares and he wanted to be rid of them more than anything.

Well, maybe not more than ANYthing; doing with Chad what he'd done with Alan in the restrooms yesterday ranked pretty high on Ryan's wish list after all.

So maybe he should simply talk to Chad? Clear the coast once and for all? Reveal his feelings?

A vivid image of Chad pushing him into his walk-in closet laughing cruelly came suddenly to his mind but he squashed it down quickly.

No, Chad wouldn't react like that, would he? Not the Chad that had held and comforted him yesterday. Cruel homophobic Chad existed only in his stupid nightmares, it was the fruit of all his worries and Ryan decided while he kept chewing his lip that enough was enough.

He made up his mind there and then to find Chad and open up to him. It couldn't get worse that this damn confusion.

* * *

When the bell finally announced a short break between lessons Ryan stormed out of the classroom. But he didn't make his way to the restrooms like some others but quickly rushed through the halls.

He had a pretty good idea where Chad would be and… he was right.

When he entered the gym the jock was dribbling with his basketball towards the hoop at the other end, constantly muttering under his breath.

Oblivious to Ryan's slow approach Chad delivered a perfect jump-shot and shouted triumphantly: "See that, Evans? I don't care a fuck about who you get cozy with, I DON'T CARE!"

"I see," Ryan surprised the panting jock with his reply from directly behind.

Chad spun around and his eyes grew wide at seeing Ryan's relaxed expression. Then his face twisted into a smirk and he drawled:

"Oh, Evans. Already done with chatting up your boyfriend?"

Ryan noticed the casual use of his last name, always a sign for Chad trying to keep his feelings in check. The jock must be pretty worked up then. So Ryan simply crossed his arms over his chest and waited for more. He didn't have to wait long because Chad went on ranting furiously:

"You know, that Drama geek of yours really looks like he could use some fashion advice. You should start dressing him up or otherwise he's gonna sully that Fashion-King reputation you constantly work on holding up!"

Ryan couldn't believe his ears. Chad was throwing around insults, and pretty poor ones, to someone he didn't even know. Was he really making fun of Alan just because the boy had been talking to him? But that would mean…

Chad was jealous!

Ryan felt something inside him jump, probably his heart, and he couldn't stop a genuine smile spreading over his face at hearing Chad rant on and on.

"He would look totally ridiculous but I'm sure you'd be able to think of the right incentive for your… boy-toy to even make him wear one of your stupid hats! And I don't… why are you grinning like mad? Is it that funny?"

Chad had finally caught on Ryan's smug expression and it was irritating the hell out of him. He wanted nothing more than to wipe that stupid cute grin off the blonde's face.

But instead of shutting down that smile with a kiss like he truly wanted he bellowed:

"What's so damn funny?"

"You're jealous!" Ryan stated.

"WHAT?"

"You're jealous and that's the best thing I've heard all day!" he grinned and took a step towards Chad who stepped backwards in return.

"I'm not jealous!"

"No?" Ryan stepped up to Chad again and again the jock retreated further back.

"NO!" He shouted, "Why would I be jealous? I'm not!"

Once again Ryan moved forward, swaying his hips more than usual in walking. Chad's eyes briefly traveled downwards and he felt his throat go dry at the sight. He took another few steps back and bumped against the wall. One quick glance confirmed his worst fear: there was nowhere else to go and Ryan was again closing the space between them.

Chad stared into the blue depth of Ryan's eyes and then his gaze flickered downwards and he watched breathless when a pink tongue darted out quickly to wet equally pink lips.

Chad gulped and in one last desperate attempt to regain his composure he pleaded:

"God, would you stop doing that?"

"Doing what?" the lips whispered and leaned closer still.

"That… that leaning thing!" Chad replied desperately, "I can't think with you standing so close!"

Ryan's smile vanished instantly and he answered:

"Then don't!"

"What? Ryan I… I can't…" Chad stuttered.

"Don't think!" the blond boy advised before he leaned in again and finally closed the space between them.

It was nothing more then a fleeting touch, a brief peck to test the waters before Ryan pulled back just an inch and whispered:

"Just don't think, Chad!"

And then he moved forward again and let their lips meet for the second time.

For the terrible long span of two seconds Ryan felt Chad do absolutely nothing and he was about to break the kiss when there was suddenly a moan coming from the dark-haired boy and then… then he was kissing back.

Ryan knew instinctively that what he'd been dreaming of last night hadn't even come close to the real thing.

Kissing Chad felt… it was just… wow.

Chad's lips were as soft as he'd imagined, only a hundred times softer, when they molded to his mouth and Chad tasted salty and warm… like a summer's ocean breeze.

Ryan was in heaven.

There was just one thing bothering him… he truly like his hats but in situations like these they were just too damn inconvenient. Always getting in the way!

Ryan tilted his head to the left and deepened the kiss. He felt Chad relax against his body and soon enough the jock's hands sneaked around his neck to pull him even closer. His chest was pressed firmly against Chad's and he braced his hands against the wall on either side of Chad's body to keep his balance.

Ryan felt like floating, he didn't know which way was up and down.

But all too soon the need to breath became an issue and Ryan pulled his mouth away reluctantly to gasp for air.

He opened his eyes and looked at Chad apprehensively. The other boy was breathing rapidly and had his eyes still closed.

"Chad?" Ryan whispered with trepidation.

Chocolate brown eyes slowly fixed on his and Ryan could see the different emotions rushing over Chad's face.

Shock, disbelief, panic… but also lust and true happiness were mirrored in a matter of seconds.

"Don't freak out on me now, Chad." Ryan quickly said.

"Ugh, o-kay," Chad replied and licked his lips unconsciously. Ryan had to look away for a second, otherwise he would have ravished that perfect mouth again. But he knew that they had to talk about this.

Ryan leaned back a little and noticed that Chad's arms were still around his neck. That was a good sign, wasn't it? Chad seemed to have wanted and enjoyed the kiss as much as he had and… he'd been jealous.

There was no denying it, Chad wanted him. But Ryan also knew that the other boy was probably terribly confused right now and if he didn't want to screw this up he needed to make clear that he understood.

"Did that prove to you that there's no need for jealousy?" he asked and looked at Chad with his most sincere smile.

"Ugh, I don't know…" Chad looked away embarrassed and Ryan felt his heart sink. He didn't know how he could convince Chad if…

Chad interrupted his worries with a sheepish smile saying:

"I'm not really convinced yet that I got your meaning. Maybe you could try again?"

When the request finally sank in, Ryan's face split into a smirk and he leaned closer to that taunting mouth again, whispering seductively:

"Oh, not convinced yet? I'll show you exactly what I mean!"

His mouth was on Chad's again and this time Ryan didn't hold back anything out of fear for rejection. He put all his feelings on the line and kissed Chad with everything he had.

Chad's hands tightened on his shoulders when Ryan pushed his body against the other boy, hands traveling through thick locks and stroking down the nape of the sensitive neck.

The kiss heated up more, tongues clashed and fought for dominance in each other's mouth's and hands groped at every body part available. Ryan dared to sneak a leg between Chad's thighs and received a shuddered groan in response.

His half-hard cock was pressed against an even more aroused one and Ryan couldn't stop his hips from pushing forward.

"Gah…" Chad pulled his mouth away to gasp at the foreign but wonderful sensation and Ryan took the opportunity to let his lips leave a wet trail from Chad's jaw to his collarbone, nibbling playfully at the junction of shoulder and neck and stopping only because Chad's shirt was in the way.

"Ngh, oh God…" the jock breathed and tilted his head back to give Ryan better access. It slammed into the wall behind but Chad didn't mind.

He didn't even notice the slight pain, he was too engrossed in the sensations Ryan evoked in him.

God, if he'd known it would feel like this he would have let Ryan do this long before. Why had he been so scared?

It didn't matter now; Chad had never been one to dwell on lost chances too much. All that counted was that right now he was experiencing the best kiss he'd ever had and he didn't want it to end, ever.

But end it did.

Sooner and much more cruel than either Chad or Ryan wanted.

There was a sudden throat-clearing and a stern voice boomed from behind:

"Gentlemen!"

The kissing boys leaped away from each other like being burned and Ryan turned around to the person Chad was already staring wide-eyed at.

Principal Matsui had somehow materialized in the gym and was now walking up to them, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Mr. Evans, Mr. Danforth! Would one of you be so kind as to explain…"

"Principal, Sir!" Chad interrupted quickly, "it's not… I mean, what you saw… it's not what you think you saw. We were just…"

"Mr. Danforth," the Principal cut him off determined, "I know exactly what I saw. I saw you two kissing each other and that's…" he smiled a little embarrassed, "… that's really none of my business."

Chad and Ryan both stared at the older man open-mouthed and Ryan couldn't suppress a quick grin but it faded quickly enough when Principal Matsui went on:

"But what IS my business and what I wanted you to explain to me before I was so rudely interrupted is: Why are you here instead of in class? I was just informed that the two of you failed to attend your afternoon classes for the second day in a row!"

He looked from one boy to the other and waited.

"So?"

"Principal… I, we… ugh…" Chad stuttered and looked at Ryan for support. But the blond boy seemed to have lost all ability to speak or even think because he was still staring shock-shelled, gaping like a fish.

"I see," Principal Matsui sighed after a few seconds and then took a step backwards. He turned around and motioned for the boys to follow, throwing casually over his shoulder:

"If this is all you have to say for now then I'm forced to take the matter back to my office. If you would accompany me, please?"

Chad paled and threw a desperate look at Ryan, wondering how someone managed to sound so polite while announcing the worst possible news (for what could be worse than to be cited to the Principal's office for disciplinary matters) when he dragged his feet after the stern man who'd ruined the most perfect moment of his life so far.

What Higher Power had he upset lately to deserve such a shitty instant karma?

* * *

TBC 

**I'm sorry this chapter turned out rather short. I'm gonna try to write more when the weekend has finally arrived.**

**Oh, and again the incentive: the person with the 100****th**** review will have a say in what I'm gonna write next, so… please?**


	14. Chapter 14

Here's the next part; with a little help and inspiration from Keirah (thanks a lot) I managed to move on with the story. And I'm sorry if the first part seems a bit unimportant for the bigger plot but I felt the need to explain why the Principal reacted so unusually calm and friendly to seeing two male students kiss.

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

"So this will be your kind of detention, Gentlemen!"

Principal Dave Matsui watched the two students opposite his desk in silence. One was gaping back at him like a fish (not a look that suited Chad Danforth very well) and the other one kept his eyes downcast looking at the hands in his lap.

He'd never seen two boys more opposite (not only in appearance but in character as well) and the Principal briefly wondered how they had managed to see past their differences long enough to take an interest in each other.

And taken an interest they had; if the scene he'd involuntarily witnessed earlier was any indication. The Wildcat's second best basketball crack and East High's poster boy for the Drama Club were obviously an item (or pretty much on their way to becoming one).

And although the thought of those two boys having a homosexual relationship didn't exactly please the rather conservative Principal there was absolutely nothing he intended to do about it.

Quite the opposite.

Though Dave Matsui had more than 400 students under his care he'd never failed to watch the personal development of each and every one of them. And over the last year or so these two boys had given him reason for serious concern regarding their independence.

There had been practically none.

Chad Danforth had depended on his friend Troy Bolton a bit too much for the Principal's liking and after the Coach's son had gotten a girlfriend Chad had seemed to be lost somehow. And as for Ryan Evans…

… well, he didn't like to think about the countless times he'd worried about the nature of the Evans' twins' connection. He'd feared that it might have developed into some sort of unhealthy more-than-siblings-relationship.

But now it seemed as if the Principal might be able to throw his concerns out of the window and for that he was grateful.

If the right way to get those two boys away from the one's they'd been vehemently clinging to would lead them onto a new path altogether, a path they were to walk side by side, then… well, so be it!

Who was he to judge?

That's why Dave Matsui intended to not only look the other way and let the scene from the gym go scot-free but he'd even come up with a punishment for them missing classes that could be seen as secret support.

Though regarding the two boys' shocked expressions now they didn't seem to see it like that.

"Gentlemen," Principal Matsui eventually addressed them again, "are we clear on what your detention is going to consist of?"

Two identical automatic nods were the only reply he got from the pair. They were obviously still trying to process what he'd forced upon them.

"Good. Mr. Evans," he addressed the blond boy, "you are free to leave now. I'd like to have a word with Mr. Danforth alone."

Ryan finally came out of his stupor and threw a desperate glance at Chad but the other boy was still gaping at the Principal open-mouthed. So he turned his head back to the man across the desk and mumbled:

"Okay, ahem… thanks, Principal." He stood up from the chair and walked over to the door. Reaching for the handle he threw over his shoulder:

"Chad, I'm gonna wait for you outside, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," came the quick reply and Ryan threw one last look back before he left the office.

Chad was alone with the Principal.

"So, Mr. Danforth…" he heard the older man say, "and now I'd like to talk to you about your plans for the future. Have you even started on applying for some colleges?"

Chad groaned silently. College talk, oh fuck!

* * *

When Ryan had left the Principal's office he noticed that the school was very quiet. He threw a look at the clock in the hall and cursed inwardly.

It was nearly half past three, damn!

That meant lessons were over and the students had already gone home. And so had Sharpay obviously.

Just like the day before Ryan would be forced to either walk home six miles or call someone to pick him up. He was still undecided on what would be the worse option when he reached his locker to pick up his schoolbag and noticed a small pink note stuck to it.

He pulled it off and recognized his sister's unique handwriting immediately.

"_**Ry, if your ass hasn't made it to my car by three-thirty I'll be off and you can walk home again for all I care! Get moving! NOW!"**_

Sharpay waiting for him? Actually… waiting for anyone? That was definitely a first!

Ryan threw another glance at the clock and then started running. He slithered around corners and flew down flights in a neck-breaking speed, his briefcase bumping against his leg every now and then, and sprinted out of the school to reach the front steps at exactly three-thirty.

Sharpay's pink car was just about to speed past but when Ryan threw his panting self in front of it the brakes screeched and the convertible stopped inches from his trembling legs.

Ryan all but fell onto the hood from exhaustion; he braced his hands flat against it and gasped for air.

"Ryan!"

Sharpay's head came sticking out above the windscreen, over-dimensional sunglasses not quite hiding the shocked expression on her face.

"What the hell… where have you been? Get in!"

"Shar," Ryan breathed and climbed onto the passenger seat, "please wait a second."

"Wait? What for?" the blonde replied and slipped the gear in place. "We're already late!"

"I know, but…" Ryan pulled off his newsboy cap and wiped the sweat off his forehead. Then he put the cap back onto his tousled hair, checking out the right angle with a quick look in the tiny mirror, and went on:

"I don't know how Chad's gonna come home. He still doesn't have a car and…"

"Chad Danforth?" Sharpay frowned and with a slight headshake she got the car moving again. "Why should I care for that… basketball-gorilla?"

"Stop," Ryan shouted when the car set into motion against his will, "Shar, please! I promised to wait for him!"

"You also promised to get a manicure today. Tanya will be there at four!" She replied and indifferently steered the car onto the street.

'Shit, she's right!' Ryan thought. He'd made the date with their personal hair- and nail-designer a few days ago when he'd felt like the only thing to cheer him up would be a perfect manicure.

But what about Chad? He'd said he would wait for him outside and… well, they really needed to talk about what had happened, right?

What would the jock think if he wasn't there?

Ryan looked away from his sister and his eyes fell onto the hands in his lap. On the other hand… his fingernails really could use some tending to.

Maybe he could call Chad later to talk to him? Or even meet the other boy after his hands had been taken care of?

Chad would understand, wouldn't he?

Sure he would, he was his friend after all. More than a friend actually, he was… well, did he dare to call him his boyfriend?

"What's with the cheesy grin?"

Sharpay's annoyingly curious voice broke through Ryan's happy thoughts of his perhaps-hopefully-new-boyfriend.

"Nothing," Ryan quickly tried to hide his smile but Sharpay knew her twin long enough to know something was definitely going on.

Something she didn't know yet but would soon enough, if she had a say in this. And of course she had; she would drag it out of her brother no matter what.

"Ryan," she commanded in true Sharpay-mode, "come on! Spill already! You should know by now that you can't hide anything from me."

Ryan sighed half-heartedly. His sister could be a pest sometimes but… at the same time he knew if he didn't tell her he would probably burst from happiness.

"You really won't like this," he started.

"Then you have to let me know so that I can talk you out of it!" Sharpay threw back with a grin.

"Oh no, sister! Not this time. You won't be able to!"

Ryan was sure that nothing his sister would come up with would be enough to convince him that Chad Danforth wasn't worth it.

The jock was exactly what he'd been waiting for and nothing would sway him from that!

"Okay, okay! Now spill already!" Sharpay demanded.

"I'm… that is…" Ryan stumbled over how to phrase it best, "… me and Chad, we were, I mean we are, sort of…" he trailed off when he saw his sister's shocked face.

"You and Chad?" the blond girl cried. "Don't tell me there's a 'you-and-Chad' now! When did this happen? And what about that… the other one, that what's-his-name?"

"Alan?" Ryan offered tentatively.

"Yeah, him! Only a day ago you were all over him doing whatever it is you guys do…"

"Hey!" Ryan threw in but his sister went on:

"… And now it's suddenly YOU AND CHAD?"

"I told you, you wouldn't like it!" Ryan stated calmly. "Oh, and for the record… I wouldn't have been with Alan if YOU hadn't ordered him to jump me! I didn't do anything, I just… went along for the ride!"

Ryan blushed when he thought about his last words and added:

"Maybe I should rephrase that last part."

"Yes, gladly! I really don't need that image inside my head!" Sharpay shuddered at the mere thought of what those two had been doing.

"But, Ryan!" the Drama Queen went on, "back to the matter at hand: Chad Danforth? I mean… CHAD DANFORTH??"

Ryan backed away and put a finger in his left ear to loose the tingling his sister's high-pitched shrieking left. "Calm down, okay? And stop sounding like I committed a crime or I won't tell you anything! There's nothing wrong with Chad!"

"Apart from the hair and the stupid shirts you mean!" Sharpay scoffed.

"Hey, I like his hair! And the shirts… well," Ryan shrugged, "okay, I guess you got a point. But that's just looks. It doesn't matter… much."

Sharpay blinked surprised and then stared at her twin.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done to my brother?" she half-joked. "Really, Ry. Looks don't matter much?"

Ryan let out a desperate sigh. He knew that Sharpay wouldn't understand. Nevertheless he tried to make her see it.

"Sharpay, I really like him. And I think he likes me back."

"Well, he'd better!" Sharpay forced out. "Otherwise he should start making his last wish for if he hurts you…"

She left the threat unfinished and gave a true smile to her brother who smiled back in return. He couldn't help but once again be grateful to have a sister like her.

The next few minutes passed in companionable silence but when Sharpay had steered the convertible into their home's driveway and the twins made their way up to the front door she couldn't take it any longer.

"So, Ry…" she asked, "are you gonna come forth with the sordid little details voluntarily or do I have to make the manicurist torture you first?"

Ryan simply laughed out loud and winked at her before he vanished inside.

"You know I will make her do it!" Sharpay threatened teasingly and followed him.

* * *

When Chad was finally let out of Principal Matsui's clutches he wasn't too surprised that Ryan was nowhere to be seen. A bit disappointed, yes… but not surprised at all.

After all, who would hang around the otherwise deserted school for a full hour?

Chad strolled through the empty halls, picked up his knapsack on the way and left the building to finally breathe in some well-deserved fresh air.

College talk with the Principal, really! Could there be anything worse?

Okay, Chad imagined college talk with Ms. Darbus would be even more of a nightmare but he wouldn't know. Thank God he only had Ms. Darbus for homeroom this year.

'Well, that's gonna change now, isn't it?' Chad thought sourly.

He would spend a lot more time with the eccentric Drama teacher than before; and certainly a hell of a lot more than he'd ever wished for.

The jock still couldn't believe the cruel punishment Principal Matsui had come up with for him.

And for him alone; Ryan had been let off the hook easily in Chad's eyes.

All the blond boy had to do was promise to take another after-school activity, no matter what, as long as it would be something to do with sports.

As if that would be a punishment for the baseball crack Ryan had secretly turned out to be. And hadn't he been thinking about joining the team after all?

Okay, after that fateful afternoon in first week, when he had ditched the try-outs out of fear of some stupid homophobic assholes, Ryan had never again mentioned wanting to play baseball at all. And Chad's secret plan to talk Ryan into it had somehow not really made any kind of progress so far.

But now Ryan simply had to try out for the team he'd secretly wished to join all along and Chad couldn't really see what kind of punishment that should be!

It was nothing compared to what he'd have to endure!

The winter musical!

He, Chad Danforth, basketball crack and well-known musical-hater, was expected, no… FORCED to be part of the damn winter musical!

"To broaden your horizon and open your eyes to something other than basketball. And maybe even discover hidden talents!" the Principal had said with a smirk.

Hidden talents, my ass!

What hidden talents could he ever discover on a ridiculously decorated theater stage, hopping around in tights to the sound of stupid show tunes?

Not that he would even wear tights, ever! No way, not over his dead body! Or preferably the Principal's dead body.

But still… musicals! That was Troy's thing, not his! Or the ice-princess' job and …

Ryan!

It was Ryan's thing, too. Of course the blonde would also be partaking in the damn winter musical! The two of them would spend a lot of time together, rehearsing and probably dancing…

Chad grinned and thought: 'Well, maybe it won't be so much of a punishment after all!'

But he still wouldn't wear tights, not even for Ryan!

* * *

A low buzzing sound coming from his back pocket pulled Chad back from his thoughts and he fished for his cell quickly.

Not sparing a glance at the displayed number he answered:

"Yeah?"

"Chad? What's up with you, man?"

"Hey Troy!" Chad replied subdued.

"Where have you been? You ditched afternoon-classes! Again!"

Chad rolled his eyes and wondered since when Troy had started to sound like a teacher. He forced his voice to sound not too annoyed when he answered:

"I wasn't feeling well, so…"

"Oh, so you're home?" Troy asked sympathetic.

"Ugh, no… actually I'm still at school. I had a talk with Principal Matsui."

"What about?"

"Don't ask!" Chad groaned. "We're gonna be stage partners, dude! Looks like the Lava Springs' Talent Show wasn't the last time I had to show off my dancing skills."

"Huh?" Troy asked flabbergasted, "Dude, what're you talking about?"

"If you come and pick me up I'm gonna tell you!" Chad replied. After all, he needed a ride home and having Troy pick him up would be ten times better than having to call his mom. And Chad felt he needed to talk to Troy anyway.

Troy had been his best friend since kindergarten and he deserved to know about certain changes in Chad's life, didn't he?

So why wait with what you could do today? It wouldn't do to put things off to Doomsday, and certainly no such things like meaning-of-life-stuff.

And discovering that you're gay definitely counted as such, didn't it?

"Okay, sure thing! I'll be there in a minute!" Chad heard Troy answer before he hung up.

Chad put his cell back into his pants and breathed deeply.

'Time to spill the beans I guess!' he thought and plopped down onto the front steps to wait for his friend.

* * *

TBC

**Okay, I don't know if a Principal is authorized to order students to take certain activities but I thought it would be cool if he could. So now I've set the base for Chad joining the winter musical and Ryan playing baseball and that's all that matters.**

**I hope you liked reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this chapter; it was really… fun I guess! Please tell me whether you still like it and what you want to happen next. I'm always open for suggestions.**


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